Heart's Rose
by Zining
Summary: Duo and Heero infiltrated the same school to carry out their missions separately. But only one of them knew who the other was. Mild shonen ai. [Alternative title: The Seed, the Shoot, the Bud and the Blossom]
1. The Seed

Standard disclaimers apply 

Author's Note : This is my first fanfic. I haven't watched any Gundam W anime or read any of its manga. A few of the characters are a bit OOC but what the heck! I have only fanfics to refer to get an idea of the characteristics of each pilot. (One reason why Wufei is hardly mentioned at all.) The reason why I started on this hobby is because I am 'corrupted' by my friend, Wing.

The Seed Part 1 

Two figures were seen standing in a leaf-carpeted forest clearing. From their stance, a casual observer would have thought that they were having a duel that could leave only one standing.

"You know how I feel about you." There was a slight quiver in her voice, as if the words were forced out with tremendous will-power.

The sentence hung in the silent air. The person to whom the words were addressed to merely looked impassively at the person who uttered the words. Under his cold and unreadable eyes, Relena shifted uneasily and finally dropped her eyes. Her rapidly beating heart was threatening to burst out of her ribcage. She tried her best to still the pounding in her ears lest she miss hearing Heero's reply. Clammy hands clasped together to stop them from shaking, Relena continued to study the black leather shoes of the boy in front of her.

_Stop acting like some feather-brained, secondary school girl baring her heart to some Y-chromosome carrier whom she has a crush on._ A voice at the back of her brain admonished her. Although her brain wished otherwise, her body still reacted every bit like the average feather-brained, secondary school girl. Her face felt as hot as a furnace and she bowed her head even more to study her own shoes, so that the boy she desperately wanted to impress would not become unimpressed. She felt like a pig waiting for slaughter.

_The bloody boy!_ _Why is he taking so long to come up with a reply? Maybe he just enjoys watching me getting consumed by my own shame and embarrassment here. Maybe...._ Relena stopped her train of thoughts abruptly. Heero had started to open his mouth.

"No I don't, Relena. You tell me." His voice was icy and dead-pan. And she thought his **eyes** were cold. But then she didn't have time to contemplate on the matter as a million other thoughts flooded her brain at that moment.

_The bloody, bloody boy! What does he mean he doesn't know?! Urgh! How can it be any more obvious than it already is?! Does he have to scrape up every last shred of dignity I have and stomp it underfoot? Sadist!_ One part of Relena wanted to throttle the granite-faced boy in front of her while the other threw pride and dignity to the four winds. The latter won.

"I... I like you...." her soft voice faltered a bit before continuing in a strained tone "... a lot." Her heart gave up trying to escape though the ribcage and decided to climb upwards instead. Relena could feel her heart beating in the vicinity of her throat.

"But I don't like you... a lot." The last two words were added as if to mock her.

Mock her! Relena's eyes flashed and before she could stop herself, the slap was delivered and the forest clearing rang with the sound of flesh hitting flesh.

XXXXXX

"Ouch! That gotta hurt."

Unknown to the two figures in the forest clearing, three other figures crouched inconspicuously behind a mass of thick undergrowth, witnessing the whole episode.

"Duo, keep your voice down!" Quatre's fierce whisper reminded his friend that they were still in danger of being caught eavesdropping. He shuddered at the thought of what Heero would do to them if he found out. It wasn't their intention to eavesdrop on so private a conversation. Honest! He was having his usual morning jog through the forest with Trowa and Duo when the trio stumbled upon Heero and Relena. Before he could greet them good morning, Duo and Trowa had grabbed him from behind and dragged him to their present hiding place, all the while shushing him to silence. Duo, he understood -- jests, pranks and the sheer act of making other people uncomfortable were as normal as breathing to him. Nothing in the world would make Duo miss this opportunity to collect insult materials to be flung at Heero's face -- just to see to what extent that granite face of his could distort itself. But Trowa.... he had stared daggers at him but the boy with the ridiculously long forelock avoided his accusatory gaze with annoying ease. This was a side of Trowa that he had just begun to discover and dislike.

"Ooh... I wouldn't miss this for the world!" Duo's excited voice broke him out of his reverie. He started to visualize the act of cutting off Duo's braid.... followed by Trowa's forelock.

XXXXXX

Tears were warming up her already too-warm cheeks and Relena detested this portrayal of weakness in front of him. At least she managed to breathe normally instead of sobbing and choking like a regular, crying, heartbroken idiot.

"You're angry."

Relena kept silent. She did not trust her voice not to stutter or crack at that moment.

Heero's flat voice continued emotionlessly. "Why? Because I don't feel about you the same way you feel about me?" The wet-cheeked girl in front of him still said nothing, trying to appear calm and composed.

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Loving someone doesn't earn you the right to be loved in return. Just like the fact that loving a person doesn't qualify you as that person's lover. Love has to be mutual to bloom, Relena, think about that for a while." He turned and strode off as silently as he came, leaving behind a forlorn Relena in the middle of the forest clearing.

XXXXXX

"I'm going after him."

Quatre seemed relieved. "Yes, I agree we should all go back to the base before..." The sight of Duo scuttling after Heero's rapidly disappearing figure made him realize that he had misheard Duo.

"Duo! Come back!" Quatre was still whispering as Relena still stood fifteen metres away. "That idi...."

"I agree we should go." Trowa's voice cut in and he was tugging at Quatre's hand.

"But...."

"Leave them. What follows no longer concerns us." Trowa's tone was final and Quatre allowed himself to be pulled along without further protest.

XXXXXX

Heero continued striding down the well-trodden path leading away from the forest clearing, his mind still replaying the incident that just happened.

Something hard struck him from behind without warning. He had only nanoseconds to recover from his surprise -- surprise that anyone could have sneaked up on him without him realizing it -- and switch to combat mode, his body reacting faster than his brain. He turned his body with lightning speed, a fist already launched to crush the windpipe of his assailant who dared to....

_Duo!_ The fist was flying straight towards the grinning boy's face and could not be recalled in time. Duo parried the blow with a speed equalling his own and proceeded to trip him off his feet with a foot-sweep.

As Heero was falling down onto the soft turf, he had time to think: _I didn't know that Duo took judo lessons...._ before murderous thoughts like: _The bastard! This joke has gone far enough! He'll learn to regret this for the rest of his miserable life!_ crowded his brain.

Heero got up quickly, violent fury burning in his cold, blue eyes.

"Hey! Chill out, man. I was only trying to cheer you up." Duo's bubbly voice interceded before Heero decided to beat him up into one unrecognizable pulp. Duo was fully aware that he had the upper hand a moment ago only because he had the element of surprise to his advantage.

"Cheer me up? For what?" Heero's voice sounded ominous. Duo started to fidget and look a bit guilty..... _Guilty?_ Then Heero **knew**.

"You! You were there at the clearing!!"

"Wait a sec! I can explain...." As the words left his mouth, Duo discovered to his chagrin that he could not explain his actions at all.

"Explain what? That you are a sly, sneaky, eavesdropping son of a ..." Heero paused, took a deep breath and kneed Duo's stomach, sending him doubling up in pain. While Duo was busy wheezing and catching his breath, he followed up his attack with a tackle and after a few moments, Heero had Duo pinned to the ground. He didn't even need to breathe heavily to recover his breath. Duo was forced to confront eyes that were as hard and cold as steel.

"Jeez ... Heero! You don't have to ..." Flames started to flare up in one of Heero's pupils. "Okay, fine. I'm a sly, sneaky, eavesdropping son of a female canine. I shouldn't have done what I did. Now, are you happy?" Heero remained motionless, clearly a sign of unhappiness and displeasure.

"I thought you don't feel anything for Relena. So why should you get so depressed over her slapping you?" Duo hastily decided to change the subject after realizing that an apology, however sincere, would not satisfy Heero.

"How do you know whether I'm depressed or not?" His grip on Duo's wrist did not ease a hair.

"Oh, puh-leeze! Anyone who knows you well enough can see that! That block of granite you call a face managed to take on an expression that was neither blank nor sardonic when she slapped you."

Heero began to feel unsure about himself. Was his emotions printed so obviously on his face? Could Duo read his face like a book all the time? Some emotion bordering on panic began to well up inside him.

"Look, past training only made you learn how to conceal your emotions, not lose them completely! When will you realize that you're made of flesh and blood, not gears and oil!" Now it was Duo's turn to look angry.

Heero released him without another word, his expression slightly troubled. Duo sat up and proceeded to dust off the sand that had gathered on his clothes and hair during their brief tussle. "Since you're still so spirited, I suppose my help was redundant after all. Guess I guessed wrongly about you this time."

Heero still looked silently at him, his face showing.… _relief?_ Duo could never tell what goes on in that granite head of his.

"Well, I'll be back at the base if you need me." Duo walked a few steps down the path and shouted into the woods "If anybody needs me!" before disappearing into the foliage.

_Love has to be mutual to bloom._ The thought whispered softly in Heero's mind as he got up and followed Duo.

The Seed Part 2 

The orange noonday sun shone with a warm brilliance, sending shafts of multi-coloured lights dancing on the surface of a nearby lake. The creatures in the forest had begun their symphony, welcoming any human to the wonderful sights and smells of nature. It was a most beautiful day to be outdoors and stay outdoors.

Meanwhile, back in their secret hideout, Duo was trying hard to stifle a yawn. One does not reveal one's palate to a superior, no matter how much his voice sounds like a lullaby. Of course, he could always switch off the image transmitter and be spared from uncomfortable scrutiny, but that act alone could slight the person at the other end of the line. And getting your commanding officer cross with you was not considered a very smart thing to do, to put it mildly. Besides, even though Duo appeared frivolous in whatever situation most of the time, he knew where to draw the line.

_But this briefing on my next mission is anything but brief!_ Duo sighed inwardly. The woods outside beckoned to him.

".... do you understand, Duo Maxwell?" The tone of that last sentence sounded louder than usual. Duo hastily snapped back to full attention, his glazed eyes suddenly filled with intensity and concentration.

"Yes, sir." The face of the person on the screen mirrored skepticism. _Doubting my word, is he?_ "With all due respect, sir, this is not the first time that I get a mission that involves infiltrating a school. I can pass off as a student with no problems at all....". His thoughts finished the sentence for him : _So I just don't see the point of listening to all that standard procedure and precaution thing all over again_.

"You are to investigate on the reported sightings of mobile suits around that school...." Duo's eyes threatened to glaze over again. "... but there is one small problem."

"Problem?" Something about the way the word was uttered unsettled Duo.

"The school has a strict hair code."

XXXXXX

Heero stood alone at the beach, seawater lapping at his toes. It was one of his rare visits to the normal world outside. A world where peace reigned, a world without blood and destruction. Or seemed to be, for the time being. Heero did not want to dwell too deeply on that matter.

It had been a week since his rendezvous with Relena in the forest. She had been either avoiding or ignoring him ever since and he was unsure of his feelings regarding her behaviour. Relief? Sorrow? Why should he feel relieved or sad at all? His eyes took

on a distant look as he stared at the horizon where the sun hovered above it. Finding no answers there, he closed his eyes. Maybe it was a good thing that his mission would bring him far away from this place for a while. He just received the coordinates of an OZ military base which was detected by the Colony's artificial satellites. More blood and destruction.

"I said .... Let go!" The near-shriek jolted Heero out of his stupor. Turning around, he saw four shabbily-dressed hoodlums harassing a young girl no further than ten feet away. They had her surrounded and were playfully taking turns to tug her hair and flip her skirt, causing their victim undue distress.

Heero was never the type who rescued damsels in distress but he found their actions both disgusting and intolerable. He flexed his fingers. He needed something to distract himself anyway. And the exercise would do him some good.

XXXXXX

Wearing vice-like shoes with two-inch high heels was not enough! Wearing a skirt and a ... uurgh .... petticoat was not enough! Wearing that degrading thing at his torso for curves-enhancement purposes was not enough! His humiliation had yet to reach its peak!

That afternoon, Duo had feverishly argued with his commanding officer that he, Duo Maxwell, would NEVER sacrifice his braid for ANY reason. What kind of a stupid and conservative school is that anyway? With its unreasonable and ridiculous hair codes, dress codes and God knows what other equally idiotic and unnecessary codes. After his outburst, Duo had sat down and fumed silently. His commanding officer was sympathetic enough - he suggested a scalp operation which could allow Duo to have his hair attached back on his head after he completed his mission. And he did not appear to be joking when he said that.

_The thought of having his hair literally ripped off his head forced Duo to reconsider his options - which were despairingly few. Why couldn't they send Heero or Quatre on this mission? There won't be any big sacrifice on **their** part. Duo had thought of that but questioning your superior's decision was another not-so-smart thing to do. When it seemed that Duo would have no choice but to face either a barber or a surgeon, a third option popped up in his brain at that moment....._

Which was why he was presently busy fending off these.... **hooligans** who had nothing better to do with their free time than pestering every innocent, docile-looking girl they encounter. Walking around the town in a cross-dressed condition was part of his self-imposed crash course to feminize himself before his entry application into the school was accepted. He had not expected that boys nowadays could be so lecherous, shameless and aggressive.

There is a limit to a person's patience and Duo's present situation was bringing him dangerously close to his. A palm on his rump made him decide that his tormentors no longer deserved to live. Before he could execute his crippling chops and kicks, a voice which made his blood run cold cut through the air.

"I think you all better stop right now, if you know what's good for you." That icy voice sounded TOO familiar for comfort. _Heero?_ Duo craned his head and confirmed his dread. _What is he doing here?!_ Panic, shame, embarrassment and a dozen other highly uncomfortable feelings washed over Duo like ice-cold water, making him shiver like a nearly-drowned rat. _I'm gonna kill myself first before I let him see me like this!_ He saw a life of being branded with the nickname 'lady' and 'sissy' stretch out before him until the day of his death. An image of Wufei refusing a duel with him and muttering the words 'I don't fight with girls' flashed in his mind. Not a pleasant thought indeed.

"And who's gonna stop us? You? You little ...." The speaker did not have the chance to finish his sentence as Heero's fist had shot out and connected with his left cheek. Before the other three realized what was happening, Heero had sent another crumpling into a heap with a knee-jam. While Heero was busy taking on the third, the other remaining boy grabbed a handful of sand and flung it at Heero's face. The sand hit Heero's eyes, just as the third boy went down, and temporarily blinded him. The last boy took this opportunity to pull out a pocket knife and charge at Heero. The sunlight reflecting off the sharp edge of the knife brought Duo back to his senses.

The knife sliced through Heero's forearm but fortunately the cut was shallow. Before it could do anymore damage, Duo had reached the knife-wielder and with trained precision, slammed him to the ground with his elbow. Heero was still busy rubbing grains of sand off his face, his eyes watering. Seeing Heero's condition, Duo was torn between staying to tend Heero's wound and running away in search of a hiding place.

_But you need not reveal your real identity to him._ The voice in his mind spoke. _If you can hide your identity from Heero, then no stranger can possibly see through your disguise. Just treat it as a test._ The words made sense. Duo stayed.

XXXXXX

Warm blood was running down his right arm in a steady rivulet. Heero silently cursed himself for being so careless. He should not have let his guard down, even if his attackers were merely delinquent juveniles and not trained OZ troopers. A thud alerted him to the fact that the last of the hoodlums had been taken care of ... _by the girl?_ And he had thought that she was weak and helpless.

Lifting his head, Heero took a closer look at the female he had rescued. He forgot to breathe for five seconds. She was beautiful – not 'pretty' or 'cute' like a magazine cover girl – just beautiful. Wavy, chestnut-brown hair crowned a worried-looking delicate face, tied with a silky, pink ribbon. But it was not the hair that took his breath away. _Her eyes...._ They were pools of liquid violet with depths that threatened to swallow him whole. Eyes that seemed as if they could look into his soul. And those eyes were looking at him with..... _disgust?_

The girl made a disgusted sound. "Look, buddy, I could have handled those four easily myself. You just **had** to butt in and get yourself knifed in the process, don't you?" Heero stared at her stupidly. This was definitely not the type of reaction he was expecting from her.

The girl approached him purposefully, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that he was largely responsible for the bodies sprawled on the sand. She gruffly grabbed his bleeding arm, making him wince inwardly. On the surface, he was still looking at the girl with a placidity he did not feel. While he was debating whether to snatch his arm back or not, the girl suddenly stood up and dragged him in the direction of the sea. The strength of her grip was uncannily strong for a girl.

_What the..._ Her face held such a ferocious and determined expression that Heero kept his mouth shut. When both of them were knee-deep in seawater, the girl plunged his wounded arm into the crystal-clear salty water. The biting pain that shot up his arm was so immense that it threatened to shatter the impassive mask he was wearing. He tried to jerk his arm free but any resistance on his part only seemed to strengthen the girl's grip on his arm.

"Quit fidgeting!" Her no-nonsense tone made Heero obey her immediately without thinking. "The salt can prevent infection. If you hate pain so much, then use your brain before you charge like a crazed bull into an affair that is totally none of your business!" She gazed at him with such rebuke in her eyes that he dropped his eyes like a chastised child. Who was this female, who dared to bully him and make him feel like a complete idiot during their first encounter? He had attempted to kill Relena in the past for much less. The thought of Relena gave rose to an entirely different kind of pain in his chest.

By now, the pain in his forearm had numbed to a dull throb. The girl untied the pink ribbon securing her hair and proceeded to wrap the injured site with it. Her working hands were now surprisingly gentle and the acute contrast brought an unbidden smile to Heero's lips. The smile abruptly vanished when the girl tied the knot tight enough to cut off the blood supply to his forearm. "As compensation for the trouble you have caused me, I suggest that you buy my dinner."

Heero was dumbfounded. _This is what I get in return for being helpful? Not a thanks but a scolding and an extortion? _The girl was insane! And he was insane too, for allowing her to do this to him!

Before Heero could open his mouth, the girl had resumed her hold on his arm and was pulling him along. "I know a nice Chinese noodle house at the town centre. Hope you have at least fifty credits with you."

Heero quickly tried to recall the amount of money he had in his wallet. _I should have around a hundred credits on me. That should be enough to..... Hey! What am I thinking?!_ Looking at the mysterious girl walking in front of him, Heero made a mental note to keep his distance from her. She was doing strange things to his psyche.

The Seed Part 3 

[Three days later, at a far corner of the earth where a smoking OZ base laid in ruins....]

The two Aries mobile suits relentless circled Heero's Wing Gundam. These two had him engaged in battle for fifteen minutes, which was no mean feat for the mobile suit pilots concerned. Most mobile suits could survive no longer than thirty seconds when attacked by a Gundam, which had far more superior maneuverability and firepower.

If it was a one-on-one fight, Heero knew that he could destroy both these mobile suits as easily as cutting butter. But these two mobile suits fought as one, which made Heero more cautious than usual. One reason why Gundams had been so successful in destroying enemy mecha was because their enemies were merely large numbers of individual fighters, each man fighting for himself -- which was not the case for the two enemies he was facing now. They complemented each other perfectly -- one would defend while the other attacked, leaving no opening for him.

Without warning, the defender switched roles to become the attacker and released missiles which grazed the shoulder of his Gundam, barely missing the cockpit. The close brush with death bathed him in cold sweat. It was then that Heero realized, to his astonishment, that he was feeling fear. He thought he had completely removed that emotion from his system. What brought it back again? However he did not have time to think about it anymore as the battle demanded his full concentration. Not only were the two pilots skilful in piloting their mobile suits, they worked as a team so well that it bordered on impossibility.

_How is it possible for them to time their movements and actions so precisely?_ Together, these mobile suits were tough opponents. Alone.... Heero's lips curled upwards in a deadly smile. The word 'defeat' was never in his vocabulary and nothing these two could do changes that fact. Brandishing his laser sword, he focused his attention on only one of them. His Gundam was poised, a metallic demon ready to pounce and devour.

XXXXXX

"Mission accomplished, sir. The OZ base at RTX-273-14s is successfully destroyed." Heero had contacted his Colony commanding officer and was awaiting further orders.

"Well done, Heero. I trust that the entire military force there has been wiped out completely." At this, Heero's expression became tinged with shame. However he still managed to put on a straight face and reply in his usual calm voice.

"The area had been patrolled for survivors. There was none." The half-truth sounded loud in his ears and Heero hoped his superior would not discover that he was hiding something.

"I see. You can now return to the lakeside base. You will be briefed on your next mission there." The screen went blank.

Heero breathed a sigh of relief, wiping off a sheen of perspiration which had formed on his forehead. He knew that he need not feel so guilty; what he said wasn't exactly a lie.... but it wasn't exactly the truth either. There was one OZ survivor after that battle -- an OZ pilot he had allowed to escape because he was a coward. A coward who was afraid to die. The events of that afternoon replayed in his mind like a reprimand.…

_The cost of destroying one of the pair was higher than he expected. He had taken a few square hits in his Gundam armor and had lost his only remaining weapon in the process. With all his missiles spent and his laser sword lying somewhere beyond his reach, he was forced to confront his last enemy weaponless. _

_Just as he expected, the red mobile suit posed no big threat once its partner was destroyed. The mobile suit pilot appeared disoriented, apparently staggering from the death of his (or her) other half. Without giving the pilot a chance to recover, Heero immediately charged at the mobile suit and immobilized it in a crushing bear hug. His plan was to self-destruct his Gundam, pulling his enemy into hell along with him. His mission was to destroy all enemies and that mission came before everything else, even his life. _

_His fingers were already punching in the codes to activate the self-destruct mechanism. As he was about to press the last button, he noticed the pink ribbon still wrapped around his right forearm. The words 'It takes more courage to live than die' whispered in his mind like a gentle reminder. His hands froze over the console and for the first time in his life, Heero hesitated to seek death. _

_His opponent took advantage of his hesitation to break out of his hold and gain a safe distance from him. Missing his chance, Heero knew that it would be impossible for him to use the same tactics again. The red mobile suit paused about a hundred feet away to take one last glance at Heero's Gundam before fleeing from the battle scene. The pain and hatred radiating from the escaping mobile suit pilot was tangible. _

Looking down at the object which had curbed his suicidal tendencies, Heero could not help but recall the owner of the ribbon around his arm. Her looks were etched in his mind, an image he could not erase. She was a most exceptional female... and he did not even know her name.

XXXXXX

"Sometimes, it takes more courage to live than die. Don't you agree?" The girl standing beside him looked out to the open sea. Both of them had wandered back to the beach after dinner. So far the dialogue had been one-sided, with the girl chatting non-stop and Heero making minimal grunts. The girl never seemed to tire of talking and the conversation somehow drifted to the topic of death -- a topic which at least interested Heero enough to provoke a response.

"I don't understand. No one fears life more than death." Heero's voice ended the monologue which had been going on for at least two hours.

The girl stared at him with wide, mocking eyes. "Boy, I was wondering whether that mouth on your face is for decoration purposes only. Took you long enough to form words in your head." Heero's face flushed red under the assault of her teases. Seeing his reaction, the girl burst out laughing. Her melodious laughter blew away his embarrassment like a gust of wind, making him feel at ease again. "Sorry for teasing you. No offense intended, so don't you dare hold a grudge against me for that." She lightly elbowed his ribs twice to emphasize her words. Her mesmerizing eyes sparkled with mirth.

Not knowing how to respond to this sudden feeling of closeness to her, Heero clumsily tried to bring the conversation back to its original course. "Uh... we were talking about why you think that courage to live is greater than courage to die."

"Try to picture these two people for me -- firstly, a heartbroken idiot who throws himself off a building and secondly, a soldier in battle who prefers to be killed rather than to surrender. What do these two have in common?"

Heero thought silently for a while before replying. "Both of them are not afraid to die?"

"That too. But more importantly, they are both afraid to live. To them, living is more difficult and painful than dying; so they choose the easier path. Death has become a refuge for these two people. Do you see them as 'courageous' people?"

"The soldier should be considered courageous." Often being nicknamed as the 'Perfect Soldier', Heero felt the need to defend himself.

The girl quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? And how is the soldier different from the person who throws himself off the building? Just because the soldier dies in a battlefield instead of some town or city doesn't make him the more courageous one."

"But..." The irrational urge to defend the soldier claimed Heero again. "... the soldier dies while following orders. That makes it entirely different from the one who commits suicide."

"So... what you're saying is that the soldier dies because someone else ordered him to, not because he chooses to do so himself. And that is supposed to qualify him as the braver of the two?"

"Not in the way you say it...." Heero was desperately searching for words to argue his case. "The soldier does his duty without any regard for his own life. His death is for a noble cause, and that makes his death honourable."

"Without any regard for his own life?" The girl shook her head. "You're mistaking 'courageous' with the word 'suicidal'. There is a vast difference between getting killed and being brave. Whether the death is honorable or not changes nothing. In my opinion, the soldier is no different from the suicidal fool who decides to end his life without any good reason."

The girl's back was facing Heero when she spoke those words and as a result, she did not notice the pained expression that briefly flashed across Heero's face. "However...." She continued in her contemplative vein. "... the world does need plenty of such idiots to fight its wars. If they have been smarter, they would have cherished their living moments more. They would never have chosen to participate in any bloody war…"

Silence reigned for a considerable length of time. Two motionless figures stood on the sand, both occupied with private thoughts. The sunset view was beautiful, showing a crimson ball staining the surface waters blood-red.

Before long, the girl turned to Heero and informed him that she had to leave. Heero remained silent, his face betraying no emotion. As he watched her go, his mind was in a turmoil -- filled with thoughts that commanded him to follow her, to ask for her name, to find out where she lives, to grasp any thread that will lead him back to her in the future....

_No. She and I belong in two different worlds. I am just being foolish for even considering such a thing._ Knowing that he was doing the right thing did nothing to reduce the feeling of loss that gripped his soul. She was a dream... and would be nothing more than a dream.

XXXXXX

Heero's next mission required his hacking expertise to check out a school suspected of having a liaison with the OZ organization. He entered the school as a new foreign student by the name of Hojo Tsukasa, two weeks after a girl named Katherine Kane was accepted as part of the school population.

The Seed Part 4 

"Katherine, wait up!" Duo turned to the source of the voice and saw Laila and Doyce waving wildly at him, at the same time trying to catch up with his fast strides. Both these girls had been his enthusiastic welcomers during his first day of school -- showing him around the school, telling him which foods in the canteen were edible and advising him on which boys to avoid.

When he first stepped into his class and did his self-introduction, every student in the class had been stunned to silence; making him panic with the assumption that his disguise had been ineffective. He soon discovered that it was not so. By the end of that day, practically all the boys in his class worshipped him while the girls reeked of jealousy and hostility. Doyce and Laila were the only girls willing to approach him and receive him cordially. From that day onwards, the three of them were seldom seen without each other; thus earning themselves the nickname 'The Three Musketeers' -- a nickname which Duo later discovered to be derived from an ancient literary piece written by a 19th-century Earth author.

"So, are you busy after school today?" The person who asked the question was Doyce, a red-haired girl with a freckled face. Looks-wise she was not impressive, but she never felt intimidated hanging around Duo.

"No. Why?" Duo had reached his locker and was rummaging through it in search of the diskettes required for his next lesson.

"We are wondering whether you would like to join us at the swimming pool this afternoon. A swim on a hot day such as this will be refreshing."

Duo froze for a second before rejecting the offer. "Uh.... I'm afraid I can't join you two. I...." His mind worked rapidly to form a plausible excuse. "... am not feeling well today. Sorry." Four boys who had been standing within hearing distance muttered. "A pity..." before walking off. Duo stared at them contemptuously.

Laila read the look on Duo's face and proceeded to slap his back in a friendly fashion. "You're worried about the guys, aren't you? I have to admit, the hunger in their eyes can devour elephants. But you just have to pretend as if they don't exist." With glossy, raven-black hair framing a pretty heart-shaped face, Laila was speaking as one who had experienced such situations and knew how to handle them.

"No, it is true. I'm really not feeling well....." Both Doyce and Laila were looking imploringly at him. The reputation of 'The Three Musketeers' must be maintained. "Oh... alright. I will sit beside the pool while you two enjoy yourselves. Is that okay with both of you?" Their answering grins were as bright as sunshine.

XXXXXX

_Nothing out of the ordinary so far._

_KK-DM_

Duo clicked the 'Send' icon to deliver the message and waited patiently for the computer to finish its task. _If the situation here remains uneventful after a week, I will have to leave this place. This mission is turning out to be a waste of time after all._

After shutting down the computer, Duo left the computer laboratory.

XXXXXX

In contrast, Heero's arrival at the school generated little commotion. His cold, unfriendly eyes were enough to discourage any form of contact or communication with other students. Half of his classmates were terrified of him while the other half tried very hard to ignore his existence -- which was just what Heero wanted. Making acquaintances during undercover missions only served to complicate matters and bring about unnecessary trouble.

During his free time, he would scout around the school alone, taking note of places with restricted access. His aim was to find the master terminal of the school and hack into it to retrieve data. He would have to spend several days studying the shifts in guard duty and finding the safest way to get to the master terminal without triggering the security systems.

It was pure coincidence - or fate - that brought him to the swimming pool entrance. Not wanting to leave any corner of the school unchecked, Heero went in.

XXXXXX

"Look who's sitting beside the pool." Sheila, the former school beauty queen (before Katherine Kane appeared), looked behind her shoulder and saw the hated girl reading a book at a corner. What was the despicable girl doing in her territory? Ever since Katherine Kane entered her life, the girl had displaced her from the limelight to become the object of desire of nearly all the boys in the school. She gnashed her teeth.

Understanding how Sheila felt, one of her female friends put forward a suggestion that would appease her. "Do you want me to chase her out for you? After all, what is a person without swimming attire doing in the swimming pool area?"

Sheila narrowed her eyes, seemingly deep in thought. "No. I have a better idea." Her smile was vicious.

XXXXXX

"Could that be Katherine Kane?" chirped an excited member of the group. Four heads belonging to four male youths turned to the direction indicated by the speaker's pointing finger.

"It is her! Oh gosh, how does my hair look?"

"Hey, I thought she said at the locker area that she won't be swimming. Otherwise, I would have brought a camera."

"Well, she didn't lie. She's not even in her swimsuit."

"I bet her figure is a 36-24-40."

"Lecher."

"Well, at least I'm frank about it."

The only member in the group of five who displayed little interest was Shang, the group leader and also the most popular male in school -- judging from the number of love letters he received in his locker everyday. Shang had a fair share of good looks, an owner of clean-cut and sensitive features. His hair was tawny fair, and there was lots of it, like a lion's mane, only rather more untidy. The distinctive feature about him was a single lock of white hair dropped over his left eye which many girls found irresistible.

The enthusiastic conversation continued but Shang had stopped listening. Nowadays, girls only mildly amused him. Having one Sheila attached to him like a leech was bad enough.

Having thought that, his eyes caught sight of Sheila approaching the Kane girl with slow, purposeful steps. Her intentions did not appear friendly.

XXXXXX

"Hello, Katherine." The words were uttered in a tone sweet enough to cause tooth cavities. _Uh oh. Trouble._ Duo lifted his head, a rigid smile splitting his face. Sheila was also wearing a smile but that smile did not mask the burning contempt in her eyes. _Jeez. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned._ And he did not even do anything to directly offend her.

"What a pleasant surprise to see you here, Sheila." Duo hoped his sarcasm did not leak into his voice. _This girl has been stabbing me with murderous looks ever since I got here! What does she want now? _

"That seems to be an interesting book you've got there." Suspicion welled up inside Duo. Since when was she ever interested in reading? "May I borrow it for a second?" Duo quietly let out an exasperated sigh. He more or less guessed that Sheila was about to do something horrible to the book but he handed it to her anyway. This enmity had to end. If tearing up this book would make her feel better, why not give her that satisfaction?

Without even looking at the cover of the book, Sheila flung it into the pool. The book landed on the water surface with a soft splash and began soaking up pool water like a sponge. "Oops, how careless of me."

Duo wore a weary expression. "Why do you even bother to pretend?" Sheila cheeks coloured with anger. Instead of reduced, the enmity had increased.

Duo stood up and walked to the edge of the pool. Fortunately, the book was close enough for him to retrieve without the need to get into the water. Just as he was about to squat down, hands broke out of the surface of the water to grab his ankles and pull him down. Losing his balance, Duo's head knocked hard against the cement edge before sinking into the depths. In a dazed condition, Duo felt chlorinated water filling up his mouth and nostrils. Darkness slowly enveloped him.

XXXXXX

The first person to reach Duo and pull him out of the pool was Shang. He expected something like this to happen the moment he saw Sheila walking towards the Kane girl like a predator pouncing on a prey. Although he held no special feelings for Sheila's victim, he decided to rescue her anyway. Trouble attracts attention and neither he nor Sheila could afford to be too conspicuous during this period of time.

He gently placed the girl on the ground. Her face, with brown locks of hair clinging to its sides, had taken up a frightening pallor. A large crowd had gathered around him, majority of them comprising boys who were eager to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. However, he wasted no time waiting for a chosen volunteer. By the time they fought it out, the girl would most likely be dead.

"Stand back! All of you! Give her some air!" Doyce's frantic scream cracked the air like a whip and the crowd reluctantly backed down. Doyce and Laila rushed into the circle and knelt beside their nearly-drowned friend's body.

XXXXXX

A rush of air. A cough. A spurt of water. Duo was slowly able to register the noise buzzing around him. His eyelids fluttered, opened.... and saw a boy's face so close to his that they were virtually kissing.

_Kiss....!!!_ The revulsion caused Duo to spray the rest of the water and spittle in his mouth at the boy's face. He sat up quickly, choking and gagging as if he had just swallowed an insect. His eyes bulged and he could feel goose bumps forming all over his body. The boy's wet but serene face was still inches from his. Without thinking, Duo delivered an uppercut that sent the boy sprawling on the ground five feet away. He then rushed to the edge of the pool to gargle his mouth with vigour.

Everyone else froze in their original positions, aghast.

XXXXXX

One boy in the crowd surreptitiously hid a smile behind his hand. He had burned with jealousy when he saw Shang rescuing and reviving the girl. Jealousy -- an unnatural emotion which he had never felt before this. However, the girl's treatment of her rescuer upon regaining consciousness made him feel glad that he was not the one who reached her first. Her reaction did not surprise him as he had a similar experience with her before. Her... his dream.

Turning away from the scene, Heero made his way to the exit, marking a trail of water puddles on the floor. The smile did not leave his face.


	2. The Shoot

The Shoot Part 1 

"You should thank him, Katherine. He saved your life after all."

"No one asked him to do that. I certainly didn't." Duo's tone was flat. He wished that both Doyce and Laila would drop the subject. It unnerved him to recall the events in the afternoon. He had nearly emptied his stomach after that incident and Duo Maxwell was never the owner of a tender stomach -- even when confronting blood, corpses and mutilated bodies. In his mind, that close physical contact with Shang was a hundred times more revolting and insufferable than anything he had ever encountered during the war. Duo drew a deep breath and tried to mentally block out those unpleasant memories – especially the one concerning Shang.

"Well, if you're adamant that he'll get no thanks from you, we won't force you. But don't you think at least an apology is in line here? You did punch him on the chin while the only thing he did to deserve that was rescuing you." Laila's disapproval of his actions was evident from the tone of her voice.

"Serves him right for taking advantage of me. He should be grateful that I didn't decide to do something worse… and more permanent."

Doyce cut in. "I don't understand.... Most of the girls in this school are willing to die to be in your shoes. They usually swoon with delight if Shang merely looks at them. But you.... Katherine, you are an enigma."

"Well...." Duo's voice started to sound irritable. "I don't know about you two but I'm going back to the dorm."

"But you're still soaking wet! Why don't you change into dry clothes in the girls' common changing room first?"

"I.... uh... that is... I feel uncomfortable stripping in front of other people." Duo grinned in an effort to mask the nervousness in his eyes. "I'm sure both of you will understand."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Katherine. What you have, we have." Doyce nodded in agreement to Laila's words.

Duo abruptly turned his face around so that they would not notice his flaming cheeks. "I really have to go now, bye!" He fled, leaving behind Doyce and Laila with quizzical looks on their faces.

XXXXXX

"How barbaric of her!" Sheila fussed over Shang's injury like a mother hen, her hand had been dabbing the bluish-black bruise at Shang's lower jaw with an ice-pack continuously for ten minutes. "Are you just going to let this matter rest? That devilish, uncouth girl deserves to be punished!"

The dangerous gleam in Sheila's eyes would have quailed a lesser person. Shang did not bother to remind Sheila that she was the person who started the whole thing. Getting bored of Sheila's attentions, he stood up from the chair he was sitting on and walked away without another glance at Sheila.

"Wha...." Sheila hastily dropped the ice-pack and ran after the image of Shang's back. "Shang! Wait for me!"

XXXXXX

_What am I to do?_ It was not the first time that Heero had asked himself that question. He was in a dilemma ever since he saw her at the swimming pool two days ago. Should he confront her or avoid her? He did not know what the girl had done to him, to cause all those emotions which he had spent a large part of his life burying to resurface. Emotion -- an alien thing which had begun to fascinate and frighten him at the same time. He had never realized that he was capable of feeling so strongly for anyone or anything. The 'Perfect Soldier' had no need for emotions; emotions only bring about unnecessary hesitations and pain that could be hazardous to missions. _There is no pain if you choose not to feel it._ That was one of his mentor's favourite sayings which had been ingrained in his mind. _Emotions are what you choose to feel._

Heero poked at the lump of meat on his plate with a fork, putting up the pretense of eating. _Did I choose to feel the fear and the jealousy that I felt recently?_ He did not remember having made any conscious decision to do so. Maybe his mentor was wrong. Maybe emotion is something that is beyond anyone's control. Duo was right. Past training only made him learn how to conceal his emotions, not lose them completely...

"Are these seats taken?" Heero started, and looked up to see a red-head placing her dish of food on one side of his table. Without waiting for his reply, the girl waved to her companions some distance away. "Here! I found a place!"

Heero was getting irritated with the way his solitude was robbed from him. He preferred to be alone and had established that fact in no uncertain terms to his classmates. Granted that this girl hardly knew him, but she could at least have the decency to...

"A vast difference in the boys' attitudes eh, Katherine? Before you revealed your violent side, those same boys were the ones who would not hesitate to give up their seats for us. Heck, they even used to reserve three seats for us at every table before the incident at the swimming pool!" The one who said that was a brunette who was about his age, but that was not important. _Katherine._ It was a name that had plagued his thoughts ever since he discovered it to be the name of his dream. He took a quick glance at the brown-haired girl beside the brunette who was responsible for invoking the alien feelings inside him. Her eyes were just as captivating as ever. _What is wrong with me?!_ Heero bowed his head so that she would not be able to see his face. The meeting was too sudden! He did not have the chance to sort out the conflict in his mind - to confront or avoid?

If his brain was not so muddled by fiery emotions, he would never have considered the option of confronting her at all. He had known the moment he first saw those liquid violet eyes that she was dangerous, and must be avoided at all cost. He had known that he must escape before those same eyes held him prisoner. He had known....

Heero knew that the longer he stayed, the greater would be the chance of confronting Katherine. He bent his knees and prepared to stand up. Fortunately – or unfortunately (Heero didn't know which) – Katherine chose that same moment to turn to him. Their eyes locked.

XXXXXX

_Heero?_ Duo rubbed his eyes violently with the back of his hand and peered at the face of the boy in front of him more closely. It was not a hallucination. Granite-faced Heero Yuy was standing across the table with his usual blank expression. _Why in the world would he....?! No, that's not important. What's important is that he's here and I'm still in this shameful and embarrassing state!_ His heart was hammering in his chest and beads of perspiration were threatening to break out of his forehead. Had Heero discovered his identity? Did his superior inform him about Duo's presence in the school as a girl? How should he react?

Duo didn't notice that both him and Heero had been staring stupidly at each other for more than a few seconds. _Why doesn't Heero do something?! Talk... walk away... anything!_ The uncomfortable silence stretched longer. Duo wished the ground would open up and engulf him.

XXXXXX

Doyce and Laila exchanged side glances, knowing smiles playing on their lips. Their new friend had finally formed a crush on someone. About time!

Doyce moved behind Katherine and gently shoved her onto a chair, her palms pressing down on her friend's shoulders. "Don't have to stare too long. Take a seat."

At the same time, Laila snatched the plate from Heero's nerveless hands and prodded him back to his seat. "I'll return this plate for you. I'm sure both of you have lots to say to each other." Laila winked at Doyce and both of them scampered away, breaking into giggles once they were out of earshot.

XXXXXX

"And what happened?" Doyce and Laila were hungry for news and had not left Duo alone for a second ever since his encounter with Heero in the canteen. He had been tight-lipped about the matter but under Doyce and Laila's incessant pestering and cajoling, he finally decided to let out some information.

"Nothing happened. He just told me that he'll return some property of mine to me tomorrow. End of story!" Duo's eyes took on a distant look when he thought back about Heero's response. "I still have your ribbon with me. I'll give it back to you tomorrow afternoon." And he just walked off after that without another word. Duo had breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that Heero was still ignorant of Katherine's true identity. However, he also felt slightly annoyed with Heero for knotting his guts and filling his stomach with butterflies just because he wanted to return a mere ribbon. Why was the boy holding onto that piece of cloth for so long anyway? He could just dump it in the trash can after it had served its purpose. Heero was getting more and more difficult to understand.

"Property?" Doyce's eyes twinkled with excitement. "What property?" She and Laila had locked both his arms and were determined not to release him until he had spilt everything.

"It's just some cheap ribbon that somehow ended up in his hands."

Laila pondered for a while before whispering to Duo. "You know what I think? I think that he was just using the ribbon as an excuse to meet you again. I saw the way he looked at you."

Hearing this, Duo resisted the urge to burst out laughing. They didn't know Heero, otherwise they wouldn't be saying such things. He could not imagine Heero wanting to meet a girl - or anyone for that matter - any more than necessary. The only things that mattered to Heero were his mission and his 'honour'.

"So, what's the name of that gorgeous hunk?" asked Doyce, evidently impressed by Heero's good looks.

"He.... uh.." Duo suddenly realized that Heero should not be using his real name in school. "I don't know."

"What?! After all that chemistry between you two..." Duo grimaced visibly at her choice of words. "... I thought both of you should have at least reached the stage where you know each other's names."

Duo was getting agitated. "I really don't know his name!"

Laila patted him on the back sympathetically. "Don't worry, we'll investigate for you. You'll get to know his name before this day ends." Duo let out his breath in vexation. These girls were being much too helpful in the wrong areas!

XXXXXX

Heero sat cross-legged on his bed, his arms folded across his chest. Two identical pink ribbons laid on the bed sheet in front of him. One of them was Katherine's; the other was bought by him in the town market during the weekend. He did not really understand why he did what he did ..... but there it was in front of him - a perfect replica of the original ribbon. Katherine would never be able to tell the difference between the two.

Picking up the silky ribbon which had once been around those thick, wavy brown locks, he allowed his fingers to caress the fabric for some time before placing it safely in his drawer. He negligently shoved the other ribbon into his school bag before switching off the lights.

The Shoot Part 2 

"This afternoon, two o' clock, at Gabriel Arcade Centre. Are you coming with us?"

Duo looked at the two girls who asked him that question with a confused expression on his face. "What? Arcade? I mean .... why?" These girls were always finding weird places to drag him to.

Doyce took three coupons out of her pocket and presented them in front of Duo's eyes with a flourish. "I got these from my brother. Free entry and unlimited games. The offer is only until today. Come on, school ends early today and I'm sure you don't have anything on this afternoon."

"But I don't play well." He had planned to investigate some areas in the school during that period of time. He was there on a mission after all.

"I don't too but it doesn't matter! Just come! You must!" Both Laila and Doyce were flashing those 'Bambi-eyes' at him and Duo could feel his resolve crumbling. Damn! He just couldn't harden his heart to reject their good-willed invitations.

"Okay, I'll go." The girls cheered and did a high-five. "But I'll need to get something first..."

Sly looks began to spread on their faces. "From your darling Hojo Tsukasa?"

Duo flushed a pale pink. "He's not my...!" His outburst caused the people around him to stare in his direction. With much effort, Duo tried to lighten his tone. "I wish you two will stop pairing me up with him! He's just a friend."

Laila and Doyce both nodded their heads sagely. "We perfectly understand. Just friends. Yes, definitely. How foolish of us to think that there could be anything more in that relationship ...."

Duo blocked off the rest of their jeering remarks by cupping his hands over his ears.

XXXXXX

Hojo Tsukasa - or rather, Heero - was already waiting at the main gate of the school when the trio arrived. Seeing that Katherine was not alone, Heero immediately became tongue-tied. He silently cursed himself for not foreseeing this probability. He had spent half of last night tossing and turning in his bed, thinking about what to say and how to behave during his meeting with Katherine. He had not expected company.

She stopped three paces away from him, appearing unsure of herself. Her companions rudely shoved her forward, causing her to stumble the last few steps towards him. Her face nearly collided with his and she quickly drew back to put a comfortable distance between them.

"I ... er ..." _Just give her back the ribbon and get it over with!_ He obeyed the command unthinkingly, mainly because his mind was too busy thinking of other things - the brush of her hair against his cheek, her warmth, her scent ........ Heero grimly disrupted that train of thought.

"Here's your ribbon." Heero tried to make his voice as cold and impersonal as possible.

Katherine deftly took the ribbon from his outstretched palm without touching his skin. "Why, that's very… thoughtful… of you. Thank you." She smiled feebly at him.

Just as Heero was about to escape, one of Katherine's companions rushed forward to tug at his arm. He remembered her to be the brunette who was talking with Katherine at the canteen.

"Don't go yet. We're planning to go to an arcade in town. Care to join us?"

"Wait a minute!" Katherine burst out. "We have only three coupons, remember? He can't come with us."

"He can have mine. I suddenly realize that I have some unfinished business in school, so I won't be able to join you two."

"Laila...." growled Katherine menacingly, but Laila merely stuck a tongue out at her. She turned to Heero. "Besides, a girl gotta need a male escort. How about volunteering yourself?"

"I ...." Heero's mind was still too muddled to think properly. Laila quickly clapped her hands during his hesitation. "It's decided! He'll be going with you and Doyce. That solves the problem of that extra coupon."

Laila was gone before either Katherine or Heero could protest. Doyce secretly admired Laila's finesse in handling the match-making role.

XXXXXX

"You really don't have to accompany us if you don't want to," whispered Duo harshly under his breath. The three of them were standing in a monorail heading towards the town centre. Doyce stood some distance away from the two of them, straining her ears but trying to appear uninterested at the same time.

Heero did not answer him for what seemed like an infuriatingly long time. When he did, Duo was stunned to silence. "But I do want to." Both of them were quiet for the rest of the journey.

XXXXXX

"I think I"m starting to get the hang of this." The score climbed higher and higher as Duo efficiently gunned down the zombies that were trying to get a piece of him. Those nasty-looking things exploded in blood and gore every time his shots hit home.

Doyce stood beside him, the colour slightly drained from her cheeks after watching the too-realistic graphics. "That's amazing. I thought you said this is your first time here."

"It is." Doyce looked skeptical. "Maybe I just have a natural talent for these things." He blew the head off the shoulders of one of the vile creatures that was getting too close.

Heero was leaning against a wall nearby, as still and cold as a statue. He had not attempted to play any of the games, seemingly contented with doing nothing. Getting tired of the game and Heero's continual inactivity, Duo handed the simulator gun to a

surprised Doyce and approached the Japanese boy.

"Are you going to vegetate here or something? Why don't you busy yourself with one of the machines over there?" Duo jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

"I don't see the purpose of such activity" was Heero's monotonous reply.

Duo clicked his tongue in annoyance. _Trust Heero to come up with a stupid reason like that!_ "Must everything you do serve some purpose? I suppose you have never considered doing something for the sheer act of doing it." Heero looked at him with uncomprehending eyes. "There is a word for it - it's called F-U-N."

"Fun...." The word sounded strange coming out of Heero's mouth.

"Yes, fun. When was the last time you did something just for fun?"

Heero thought for a while and discovered that he could not remember anything he had ever done for 'fun'. He had been obeying orders ever since he was a toddler, with other people dictating what he should do, and when. His life was never completely his own, but he had never resented that fact. He just accepted it meekly because that was expected of him. The burden he must bear as a Gundam pilot - a killer - did not allow him to enjoy the pleasures of normal people.

"Can't think of any, can you? Well, this is your chance. Get over there and experience some entertainment." He did not resist when Duo manhandled him towards the playstations.

XXXXXX

A large crowd of awed spectators had gathered around one of the most popular games in the arcade - 'Warlords Of The Air'. A blue Aries mobile suit was seen carrying out a fierce duel with a black Gundam holding a scythe-like weapon. The miniature mobile suit skillfully dodged the missiles and laser fire of its opponent, emerging victorious almost unscathed after the battle. The Gundam was no more than a pile of burning scrap metal in the background.

"Wow, Shang, you're unbeatable!"

"Yeah, and the difficulty level was adjusted to the highest! Even the computer is no match for you."

Shang smiled - a concave bending of the corners of his mouth which was barely discernible. Although this game was no longer a challenge to him, he never chose to play any others. Only this game provided him with a sense of satisfaction and exultation. It allowed him to wreak the vengeance denied to him in reality.

"Anyone here dares to challenge the master?" One of Shang's followers was busy collecting bets. "Defeat him and we'll triple your money back!"

One burly, broad-shouldered youth stepped out of the crowd, his face set in a stern countenance. "I have thirty credits on me saying you're going to lose." He then fixed his hard stare on Shang.

Shang nearly laughed at the youth's futile attempts to cower him. To test his mettle, Shang reciprocated the youth's stare with intense, azure eyes. The battle of wills did not last long as the youth hastily averted his eyes and took his position in the second player's seat. _Fool. You've admitted defeat before the fight has even begun._ The youth scowled when he saw the bored look on Shang's face but Shang merely ignored him. His opponent was not worthy of his attention.

XXXXXX

The game immediately caught Duo's attention the moment they came up the stairs. After Heero was forced to try out almost every single playstation at the ground level, Doyce had suggested that they go to the second floor where a greater variety of games harboured. The sight that welcomed them was a holographic battle raging across the skies. What really caught Duo's attention was the image of a Gundam - Trowa's Heavy Arms - in that game. Whoever designed the game had taken great pains to find out in detail, the appearance and the artillery of each Gundam. Heero was silent beside him. _Maybe he's just as surprised as I am ...._ Duo dismissed that probability after some thought. Heero was always as mute as a brick. His silence did not mean anything at all.

The Gundam Heavy Arms blew up in smoke and flames, marking the end of the duel. One large youth, apparently the loser, got up with a face as dark as a thundercloud and stormed off. The victor was promptly surrounded by four loud, flattering boys. Duo frowned - he had seen those boys before .... but where? His question was answered when he recognized the boy on the player's seat. _Shang._ Duo had a voodoo doll with that name nailed onto a wall in his room.

Duo found the supercilious smile on Shang's face highly offensive. His hands itched to wipe it off. Puncturing Shang's ego was the closest thing to revenge that Duo could do to the boy for what he did at the pool - and he would do just that. Duo moved towards Shang with the intention of challenging him, not realizing that his actions would have far-reaching consequences.

XXXXXX

After toweling her wet hands, Sheila left the restroom. She grumbled to herself as she made her way to the spot where the stupid 'Warlords Of The Air' game was located - the place where she would definitely find Shang. _Why does Shang find the game so amusing? He plays that game at least once every week! Playing, when he and I should be ......_ Sheila froze in her tracks. Her beloved Shang was confronted by the most venomous, wicked, base ..... scum to ever walk the surface of the earth.

_Katherine Kane!_ Sheila cursed that name at least a hundred times before going to bed at night ever since that very first day Kane stepped into her class. _What is that girl doing here?!_ She quickened her steps.

XXXXXX

Shang was more than a little surprised when he saw who his next challenger was - the girl responsible for the fading bruise on his chin. Arms akimbo, the Kane girl met his eyes easily. He could detect no fear or admittance of defeat in those violet pupils. Did she really think she could best him in the game?

One member of Shang's group spoke out. "So, what are you willing to bet?"

The Kane girl looked puzzled. "Bet?"

"You can't challenge the master without setting down the stakes. It can be money or..... a kiss."

The girl was visibly startled by the suggestion but she regained her composure in a split second. She smiled - not an entirely pleasant smile - and glared at Shang's companions with so much heat in her eyes that the four boys involuntarily huddled closer behind Shang. Those were the eyes of a worthy opponent.

"Okay, I'll accept. A kiss it'll be then. But what if he loses?"

"Uh ... if that is the case ... then ... uh ... we'll pay ...."

The red head standing beside the Kane girl interrupted excitedly. "Set dinners in the most expensive restaurant in town for three!"

The four boys looked at each other before nodding their heads in agreement to the terms. A kiss with Katherine was worth any number of set dinners. Besides, Shang could not possibly lose. It was a win-win situation.

XXXXXX

With the bet settled, Duo turned around to take up his position in the player's seat. He nearly bumped into Heero's unmoving body. The boy had been so quiet that Duo had not realized that he was standing so close behind him. He tried to sidestep Heero but the Japanese boy extended an arm to block his path.

"What do you want?" spat Duo. He was getting irritated and even a bit frightened by Heero's unexpected actions.

Heero looked steadily at him, his face laden with ..... _worry?_ "Can you win?"

_Huh? Why is he asking me this?_ "Of course I'll win! What kind of stupid question is that?" No matter how well Shang could control that mobile suit in the game, Duo was sure that he would be no match for a real Gundam pilot. It was then that Duo realized, to his dismay, that Heero would be able to recognize him through his fighting tactics. Panic rose up in him. Heero must not be allowed to watch his duel with Shang!

Like an answer to his prayer, Sheila appeared, positioning herself between him and Heero. Her attempt at forming a fake smile only made it look more like a snarl. "Hello Katherine." Her sickly sweet voice dripped venom.

A plan was already forming in Duo's head. He could make use of her malicious nature to distract Heero. Duo smiled. "Nice to see you here, Sheila. I suppose you haven't met my friend - Hojo Tsukasa." He gestured to shift Sheila's attention to Heero.

"A pleasure to meet you." Sheila offered a handshake but Heero totally ignored her proferred hand. His eyes were still fixed on Katherine. Fuelled by anger and spite, Sheila sidled closer to Heero so that he had no choice but to look into her eyes. Her eyes were predatory.

_Yes! She has taken the bait._ Hopefully Sheila would be able to keep Heero distracted until he finished the duel with Shang.

XXXXXX

The Kane girl chose the black Gundam - Deathsycthe. Shang's eyes narrowed imperceptibly when the choice was made.

At the beginning, Shang took on a leisurely attitude in making his moves. He was sure that the girl would last no longer than ten seconds if he really took the game seriously.

In a few moments, Shang was fighting for his life. The scythe in the Gundam's hand seemed to have a life of its own, snaking and slicing in different directions at once. It was used as a shield and a weapon at the same time. Her timing was flawless. The missiles he launched were cut down before their explosions could cause any damage to the Gundam. Even the computer could not do that continuously. When his energy gauge showed a dangerously low level, she homed in for the finishing kill.

Two arcs of fire, forming the shape of a cross. Shang's blue mobile suit was sectioned into four pieces before it exploded in a yellow-orange brilliance. Shang's heart skipped a beat when he saw that last move. His eyes possessed a haunted look.

XXXXXX

It took all of Heero's self-control to stop himself from clubbing the pestering girl over the head. She had been outrageously flirting with him, preventing him from witnessing the fight. The outcome of that duel was important to him. Heero was not sure how he would react if he saw Katherine kissing another guy. The annoying girl began breathing on his neck. Heero's temper snapped and he rudely shoved her away, disgust plainly written on his face. At that moment, the battle concluded. Heero felt as if a tonne of bricks was removed from his chest. She had won.

XXXXXX

"Shang, are you okay?" The four boys looked at Shang worriedly. His face and his eyes were .... not normal. Shang had not released his grip on the joystick, his knuckles were white with strain. "Shang. Snap out of it!"

The mist that shrouded Shang's eyes lifted and he was abruptly aware of his surroundings. Without uttering a word, Shang got up and walked briskly towards the exit door. His friends did not dare to stop him. Sheila, who was about to hit Heero for his incivility, immediately followed Shang when she saw him leave.

XXXXXX

"Katherine, you did it! You're wonderful!" Doyce hugged Duo so tightly that he had difficulty breathing. "Free dinners! And all thanks to you."

Duo was about to get up from his seat when Heero settled down on the seat which was previously occupied by Shang. In answer to the bewildered look on Duo's face, Heero said "How about playing a game with me?"

The Shoot Part 3 

By the time the three of them left the arcade, it was already dusk. For the sleepless town, the bustling night life had just begun.

Although Heero's expression remained unchanged after he continuously defeated Duo in the game five times in a row, Duo could tell that the Wing Gundam pilot was feeling smug inside. Was that why Heero challenged him? Just to feel self-satisfied? If it wasn't because Duo wanted to keep his identity hidden, it would have been more of a contest.

"Don't you feel too pleased with yourself. You only won because I didn't feel like winning just now." He did not like the idea of Heero having the impression that he was incompetent.

"Why didn't you feel like winning?" The question was asked nonchalantly.

"Why? Uh .... because the game was getting boring and I wasn't in a mood to play."

"Oh." Heero's eyes, which had appeared strangely hopeful a moment ago, became downcast after hearing Duo's reply. "I thought .... Never mind."

The reason for that transformation in his eyes was lost to Duo. "What do you want to say? Speak up." Heero was never a person who was afraid to voice his thoughts. He could be mercilessly frank when he had a mind to. Duo had lost count of the number of times Heero had used the words 'Shut up', 'Get lost' and 'That's none of your business' on him in the past.

Heero sighed, which was highly uncharacteristic of him. "I thought you are aware that the terms are still the same."

"Terms?"

"The bet."

It took a few seconds for the words to sink in and make sense to Duo. So that was why Heero wanted to play against him! No .... that couldn't be it. Heero Yuy would never want to do a thing like that. But then, what else could he mean? Duo became increasingly flustered. Heero was now a total stranger to him.

Doyce chose to speak during that momentary pause. "You should honour the agreement, Katherine. You lost five times, so that means ...."

"Don't either of you be mistaken!" His retort came out a touch breathy and shrill. "My bet was with Shang. No one else!"

Heero's body suddenly became more rigid than usual - if that was possible. "So you preferred to do it with Shang." Heero's voice could have sent chills down the spines of penguins in Antarctica. This was the Heero Yuy he knew. Heero had not used that tone with Katherine for so long that Duo had forgotten how it felt like to be a recipient of his cold remarks. Cold remarks that cut his heart like shards of ice.

"Will you stop seeing me as some doxy who plasters her lips on every guy she meets! Jeez!" Duo was positive that his face was as crimson as a beetroot, judging from the rise of temperature up there. "And that ... bet never existed between us! So I don't have to honour any agreement."

"Not to me, it isn't." Heero was determined to have his wager fulfilled. Duo's desperate attempts to wriggle out of the commitment were fruitless.

"Who cares what you think?" Duo was beginning to lose his temper. _Why, oh why, is Heero being so difficult?_ "I don't have time to argue with you anymore. I'm going back now. Doyce, are you coming?" He stalked off without waiting for Doyce to

answer him.

Heero, however, was not letting him off so easily. In the blink of an eye, Heero had seized his wrist in a vice-like grip. His grip was not painful but Duo had no doubt that only a steel crowbar could pry those fingers open. He spun sharply to affront his captor. "Look buster, I ...." Duo stiffened. He had inadvertently brought himself closer to Heero. Their noses nearly touched and he could feel Heero's warm breath on his face.

Doyce, who had been waiting impatiently for the enactment of this scene, decided to lend a helping hand.

While Duo was busy calming down the frantic palpitation of his heart, he suddenly felt a pressure at the back of his head which propelled him forward. That small space separating him and Heero which he was extremely grateful for a moment ago was no longer there. It was a dry peck, nothing more. But it was enough.

Duo shivered uncontrollably, anticipating the goose bumps, the queasy stomach and the revulsion which would inevitably overwhelm him ... Strangely enough, he felt none of those. A sensation was spreading from the pit of his stomach, but it wasn't nausea. It was warmth - diffusing slowly but surely to the tips of his fingers and toes. _Warmth?_ His body was not responding in the way he expected it to. _Wait a minute! How can this be?_ He should be repulsed - that is the normal and 'decent' reaction one should have when kissed by another person of the same gender. His experience with Shang was evidence enough for that fact. It was already considered abnormal for him not to dislocate Heero's jaw in reflex. Duo's free hand hung limply at his side. His brain refused to send out the signal to strike Heero. Did this mean that he was 'revelling' in his present situation? _No!_ One part of his mind screamed in denial. _I am a 100% normal, growing teenager - with healthy tastes and desires! I'm not gay!_ However, he could not explain the sweet feeling of intoxication coursing through his veins at that moment.

Duo's knees felt weak and he was breathing heavily as if he just ran a kilometre in a single breath. He mentally chided himself for reacting like some .... _girl_ during her first kiss. It wasn't even a proper kiss. It was an accident - Doyce, being the usual busybody that she was, had smacked their faces together. After mustering sufficient courage, Duo lifted his head and his heart caught in his throat. He had never seen such gentle tenderness in those cobalt blue eyes before. Heero looked so much more good-looking when he smiled. _Smiled?_ Another surprise.

Heero, his face displaying dissatisfaction, was not through with him yet. Duo's sensuous lips were conveniently parted. This time, it was not an accident.

XXXXXX

There was no mistake. Katherine Kane was the real pilot of the black Gundam. The person behind the killing machine which was the personification of death. The person who killed Cheng.

Shang stood on the roof of the highest tower in town, overlooking the neon lights and the people below him. This place was his refuge when he wanted to be alone. And he needed that solitude now more than ever.

Deep in thought, Shang absent-mindedly fingered his white forelock. His hair used to be entirely white - when Cheng was still alive. Now all that was left to remind him of his mental link with Cheng was this single lock of pigmentless hair. It also reminded him of the pain and loss accompanied by Cheng's death. The pain had been eating inside him like an insidious disease ever since, making him less humane with each passing day.

Cheng .... Cheng was his wingmate, and that placed him above anyone else in the world - be it blood relations or friends. Both Cheng and him were part of an OZ military experiment to produce more apt and capable fighter pilots. Unable to manufacture mobile suits which were superior to Gundams, the OZ war scientists had come up with the idea of linking the minds of the pilots to boost battle performance. An elite was chosen from the existing mobile suit pilots for that purpose. From those few people, fewer still were able to succeed in developing the mind link. Cheng and him were one of the few pairs who managed to bond fully with each other.

From the day the link was established, Cheng and him had been sharing thoughts and dreams. He could still remember the times when Cheng had entered his mind during his dreaming state to chase away his nightmare demons. As trust built up between them, the link also strengthened. It was not long before they began to share emotions and feelings. He was always the first to know when Cheng was hurt or unwell and vice versa. Emotion is a much more effective tool of communication than words can ever be. They were able to perceive each other's emotions and understand the reasons for those emotions. As a result, misunderstandings never occurred between them. Breakdown of communication has been one of the greatest causes of unsuccessful human relationships.

Cheng was everything to him. With him gone, Shang had lived no differently from a breathing, walking corpse. It was five months ago when the Gundam ambushed the OZ base near Salt Lake City. Cheng had fought alone during that battle where he perished - and Shang had never forgiven himself for not being there when Cheng needed him the most. At that time, the flu epidemic was rampant in that region. Bedridden in the city hospital, Shang was spared from the massacre. Cheng, who was well enough to pilot his mobile suit, was not.

He was woken up from his drugged sleep by the image of a white, blinding cross. It was the last image that Cheng saw before the life force ebbed out of him. Shang had screamed and wailed when his link to Cheng had severed. Where there used to be warmth, comfort and love, there was now only a cold, dark emptiness. Cheng's presence in his mind had totally ceased to exist. Shang was suddenly alone in his mind – and that frightened him more than anything else.

Shang had no recollections of the two months following Cheng's death. The people who looked after him during that period of time had told him that he kept on repeating Cheng's name like a mantra, all the while staring into empty space. They did not hold any high hopes of him ever recovering his sanity and they were surprised when he did.

Shang was then posted to his present school by his OZ superiors for rest and recuperation. There was a secret OZ base directly underneath the school premises where he was required to report twice a week for the re-establishment of his mental link. Shang had the misfortune to have Sheila assigned as his wingmate replacement. They had undergone the mind-linking program at least a dozen times but not even a single strand of Sheila's hair had begun to turn white. He had known, at first sight, that he and Sheila were incompatible. He continued on with the program only because he had not yet found the person who could fill Cheng's shoes ... who could fill the void inside him.

Shang brought his wandering thoughts back to Katherine Kane. He had never imagined the Gundam pilot to be a female. She had punched him during their first encounter and humiliated him during their second. It was not hard to believe that she was Cheng's murderer as well. Shang had decided his next course of action. It would have been easy for him to avenge Cheng, but that would do nothing to repair the damage that she had done. He needed a wingmate more than revenge. It was a pity that the pilot was a 'she' and not a 'he'. Shang never had much success in mind-linking with females. If he could not bond with her, she would not be of no use to him. If that was the case, he would have to kill her.

The Shoot Part 4 

'Mean Max' was a nickname he had earned for himself after years of notorious behaviour in school. Most of the teachers had taken up the 'ostrich mentality' in dealing with him - what they don't see can't hurt them. The few teachers who had dared to face him down were labelled as either 'ignorant' or 'suicidal'. For not only was Max huge - a bigness of thick, heavy bone and sinewy muscles - he was also the undisputed king rat of the rag tag bunch in school. All those who were rebels against authority looked upon Max as their leader. Max had taken sadistic pleasure in terrorizing the students in the school and would have continued to do so if Shang had not appeared.

The strange, quiet boy with the deceivingly frail-looking body was the only new student who was able to stare him down. Thinking that Shang was easy meat, Max had decided to help 'integrate him into the school' by personally ragging him. His decision cost him a week in the hospital. With Shang to champion them, the student population no longer feared him and thus, was freed from his tyrannical rule. Only a handful of his loyal subjects remained. Dethroned, Max had sunk into a life of debauchery to nurse his wounded pride.

"Chief, there's a cute chic here to see you. She said she wants to employ our services."

Broken out of his reverie, Max irritably signaled to have the girl ushered in. Uncorking his second bottle of brandy for the day, he poured a generous measure into his cracked glass. He traced the crack with a nicotined finger, reminding himself that he would have to buy a new one once he pulled this deal off. Business had been bad since Shang's entry into the school. Shang. The name itself was enough to make his blood boil.

The girl wore a woolen cap which neatly concealed all her hair and shades which hid the colour of her eyes from him. It did not surprise him as most of his customers preferred to remain anonymous. She sat on the couch in front of him, giving him a look one would normally reserve for things that crawl on the ground or in garbage heaps. Max shrugged mentally. His clients need not like him, they just need to pay up.

"So, what brings you here?" Max tried using a friendly approach. A bit of courtesy never killed anyone.

"Cut the crap." Her barbed words made him grind his teeth in anger. Before his temper got the better of him, the girl threw a thick wad of credits on the table between them. Max could not keep his astonishment from showing. He was willing to bet his right arm that the amount of money she offered was more than his teacher's salary in a year. A photograph was placed next to the credits. "I want you to do your worst with this person .... and I expect a job well done." Her voice held an edge of cold, deliberate cruelty.

XXXXXX

"What is wrong with you, woman?" Laila's voice was filled with reproach. "It's been two days since your first date with Hojo and you haven't even talked to him all this while?"

Next to her, Doyce added on to the reproof. "Yeah, you have been openly avoiding him since then. Why?"

'The Three Musketeers' were on their way to the canteen. Duo wished they could get off his back. He was getting tired of their inquisitive interrogation and unwanted 'help' in pairing him up with Heero. "It is perfectly normal for us not to meet in school. He studies in a different class, takes different subjects and has a different timetable. I have my own ...."

"You're not answering my question." This from Laila. "Why have you stopped seeing him all together? I thought your relationship with Hojo started on an auspicious note."

Duo sighed. How could he even begin to explain how he felt about the whole thing? Heero was fixated on Katherine Kane. He was a bit slow in detecting this fact as he had never deemed it possible for Heero to care so much about another human being. He had always thought that Heero's heart was made up of the same material as his face - solid rock. That day at the arcade had proven him wrong more than once. Not only had Heero made known his desire to be with Katherine Kane, he had also initiated a kiss with her. Heero had revealed more facial expressions to Katherine Kane in one day than to Duo Maxwell in six months. 'Disturbed' was a gross understatement of how he felt upon discovering this alien side of Heero. What was even more alarming was his own physiological responses to Heero's touch. Duo knew that he himself had taken the first step down the slippery slope leading to 'queer behaviour'. His code of ethics would not allow him to go any further and that was why he had been avoiding Heero .....

Heero stood at the locker area just in front of them, his eyes darting about as if searching for someone. Duo quickly took a 180 degrees turn and walked in the opposite direction. Heck, he could survive without lunch for one day.

"Katherine! Where are you going?" Duo winced as Doyce's loud voice rang in the corridor. He increased his pace and did not look back.

Heero turned just in time to see Katherine's back disappear in a sea of students who were freshly out of the lecture hall. He felt something inside his chest squeeze tight and hard. _Does she hate me so much?_

XXXXXX

Both Doyce and Laila breathed out gustily, shaking their heads sadly from side to side.

"You saw how the situation is like, Laila. What can we do?"

"I'm not sure whether we should do anything at all. Katherine certainly doesn't look as if she welcomes our interference in this matter."

"Of course we should do something!" Laila was slightly taken aback by Doyce's outburst. "You weren't there in that day, so you wouldn't know. I was. I saw how ..... how they looked at each other when they kissed. They make such a perfect couple .... It is totally unacceptable for them to break up like this for no apparent reason! Katherine is just a bit shy, that's all. I know that she truly bears feelings for Hojo. Isn't out motto 'All for one and one for all'? So how can we not help her ...."

"Okay, okay. Calm down." Laila could see Doyce practically quivering with emotion. "To solve this problem, we will have to provide an opportunity for them to be alone together. That's the most we can do."

"Alone together ..." mumbled Doyce to herself. She clapped her hands with glee. "I've got an idea!"

XXXXXX

"What? Polishing basketballs?" asked Duo, thinking that he had misheard Doyce.

"That's right. I've been assigned to clean the basketballs in the sports equipment room this evening - all sixty-eight of them. I can't do it alone. I need your help."

"But I'm not even in the basketball club."

"So what?!" Duo nearly jumped out of his skin. Doyce was definitely not her usual self today. "I'm asking for your help here. I know you have nothing on after school, so you'd better give me a damn good reason if you don't plan to help me out."

Is this the proper attitude of a person asking for help? It sounded more like a threat. "I still don't know ...."

"Katherine, you heartless woman!" bawled Doyce, crying into Duo's shoulder. People within a fifteen metre radius stared at the pair curiously.

"Jeez! Doyce, you're making a scene here!" Duo tried to push Doyce away gently but the girl refused to budge.

"I'm not letting you go until you agree to help me." She did not sound the least bit teary.

"Okay then," sighed Duo in resignation. "I'll help." As Doyce's face was still buried in his shoulder, Duo did not notice her triumphant smile.

XXXXXX

"Hojo Tsukasa."

It took Heero a moment to identify the girl who had called him. The brunette who hung around Katherine. What was her name again?

"You can call me Laila," said the girl, as if reading his mind. "I'm a friend of Katherine."

"Oh." Katherine. Katherine. Katherine. Can't a guy suffer a heartbreak without other people reopening his wounds? After she had so obviously indicated her reluctance of ever seeing him again .... "What do you want?" The words sounded bitter to his ears.

"The question here should be what you want and not what I want." Seeing that Heero did not comprehend her, Laila continued, "Katherine is now alone in the sports equipment room. Here's your chance to sort out whatever that needs sorting out between the two of you."

Alone? With Katherine? It sounded like a dream come true ... but ... "Did she ask you to come here and tell me this?"

"Well... not exactly," said the girl, slightly abashed.

Just as he expected. "Then I won't go." Heero sidestepped Laila and continued walking down the path leading to the boys' dormitory.

Laila replanted herself squarely in his path. "So you're going to give up on Katherine just because your big, fat male ego does not allow you to make the first move?"

Even though Heero knew that arguing with this Laila was just a waste of time, he retorted anyway because he badly needed to talk to somebody to ease his emotional turmoil. He was being rent by a force which he had no experience in overcoming. "If Katherine does not want my attentions, what's the point of hounding her only to make her hate me even more? If she's happier with me leaving her alone..."

"If you're truly serious about her, you won't care how she responds to your overtures. Love is not a business deal where both parties get what they want after the transaction."

"So, you're saying that I'm doomed to this futile, unrequited..." Suddenly, as if realizing what he just said, Heero snapped his mouth shut. How could he let those words - the products of his inner fear and despair - roll off his tongue so easily? And to a complete stranger at that! He should keep a shorter rein on his mouth. He was no Duo Maxwell!

"You really like her, don't you?"

"I don't have to answer your question." Why couldn't this girl just leave him alone? "You're blocking my path."

Laila did not move. "Don't you even want to find out what's her reply before you give her up? You're giving up before the fight has even begun! How do you expect to win her over this way?"

"Fight? Win? What are you talking about?" Despite Heero's iron-strong will, jealousy still managed to creep into his voice.

Knowing what was required to catch Heero's attention, Laila continued, "Well... Katherine is **merely** the most popular and attractive girl in school. She won't have any problems finding other boys to hang out with. If she really wants to, there is a wide variety of willing guys for her to handpick from. In fact, there's this particular... oops, I think I've said too much already. After all, it doesn't concern you one bit." Laila pretended to walk away and her arm was soon seized by Heero.

"Is Katherine seeing anyone?" Laila could detect desperation in his voice.

"I don't have to answer your question."

XXXXXX

Meanwhile, Doyce was tapping her foot in impatience. _Where in the world is Hojo Tsukasa?_ Laila was supposed to have persuaded him to come fifteen minutes ago.

Doyce was waiting behind the bushes outside the sports equipment room, making sure that Katherine did not leave before Hojo arrived. _I hope he comes soon. Katherine should be getting suspicious already._ It was then that she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. _At long last!_ Her relief did not last long as she realized that the sound of footsteps was too loud to be made by a single person. _Who ....?_ Doyce peeked through the parted leaves of the bushes that hid her and what she saw chilled the marrow of her bones.

XXXXXX

_Where has that girl gone to?_ Doyce had said that she'll be back in a few minutes. Duo had been scrubbing away at the basketballs for about twenty minutes already and there was still no sign of the girl who landed him in his present situation. Could she have escaped? Leaving him behind to do all the work for her? The thought made him increase the force of his attack on the basketball he was wiping with a rag. When would he ever learn to say 'no' to the requests of cute girls?

The door creaked open behind him and he swiftly turned around, an angry scowl on his face. "Took you long enough ...." His angry scowl was replaced by a look of bewilderment. He was confronted by at least fifteen juvenile delinquents with punky hairdo and nose rings. One especially muscular, big-sized and mean-looking guy who stood out from the rest was apparently the leader of the group. The leader snapped his fingers and one of the gang members went to secure the lock of the door.

_Uh oh, trouble._ Duo thought hard but could not recall any actions of his that could have indirectly offended the bunch of troublemakers in front of him. Why was he always getting into trouble with people he hardly knew? It seemed that the only crime he committed was to exist. "I'm sorry, but can you please unlock the door? I'm expecting a friend of mine to return and help me with this chore over here ......."

The ruffians were too busy ogling at him to answer him.

"Man, she's a looker," commented one salivating guy in admiration.

"Chief, can I have the first go at her? Can I, huh?" another chirped enthusiastically.

"Let's roll a dice to determine who goes first."

"Quiet! All of you!" The mean-looking leader had spoken and the rest of the group silenced themselves immediately.

Hmm ..... the leader was both respected and feared in the group. Duo's mind was already thinking up various ways to tackle the problem. If he crushed the head of the snake, the rest of the demoralized followers would be easily taken care of. He placed the basketball he was holding on the floor and stood up.

"None of us holds any personal grudge against you. But orders are orders .... Don't hate us for what we're about to do." The leader took the first menacing step forward and ended up catching a basketball with his face. The momentum caused him to stagger back, hands clutching at a bleeding nose. "Bitch!"

Duo did not give him a chance to recover. A kick in the groin followed by a right hook floored the leader. "If you have time to hurl profanities at me, you might as well use that time to get into a defensive position."

The rest of the gang members stared at their fallen leader in disbelief. One guy, having more guts than the others, stepped out and yelled, "Don't worry gang! There's so many of us against only her - a mere girl! We can't possibly lose!" The words were shouted as if reassure himself as well as the other gang members. Pant legs went up and switch blades came into view.

Finding the school skirt too cumbersome, Duo tore it until the slit went up to his thighs. While the boys were transfixed with the sight of the exposed flesh, Duo took the opportunity to incapacitate a few more of their number.

XXXXXX

Doyce ran as if the hounds of hell were at her heels. Why had Max and his gang appeared at the sports equipment room? They had an air of purpose, all of them, which hit her like a gust of cold wind and frightened her. Katherine was in serious trouble. Doyce began sobbing uncontrollably. She had run away like a coward, leaving her friend to the mercies of the likes of Max. She knew that she would be of more help running away to seek help instead of staying there to fight alongside Katherine ... but she still felt as if she had betrayed Katherine.

Tripping over a stone, Doyce landed hard on the ground and skinned her knees. Blood trickled from her open wounds. Clenching her teeth, Doyce ignored the pain and pushed herself back on her feet. Help ... Katherine needs help ... As if in answer to her prayers, she saw both Hojo and Laila on the path some distance away. She doubted Hojo would be able to rescue Katherine alone but at least he would be able to buy some time for more help to arrive. Time was an important factor here.

XXXXXX

A dash of cold water woke Max up. Spluttering and cursing, he got up from where he had been lying senseless in the floor. The girl who was supposed to be the victim looked down at him contemptuously, an empty plastic bottle in her hand. The rest of his gang were sprawled all over the place, deep in oblivion.

"You said just now that you were following orders." The girl's demeanour now was totally different from the impression he got from the photograph. "And whose orders might that be?"

"I ....." It took Max tremendous effort to stand on his feet. The girl's kick was vicious enough to end his hopes of ever getting any descendants to continue his family line. "…don't know."

"I see." The girl took one step forward, a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

"It's true!" whined Max, backing away until his shoulder blades hit the wall of the room. "I swear on my grandfather's grave, I don't know who gave the order! All I know is that..."

At that moment, the door of the equipment room burst open in a shower of wood splinters. One boy stood at the doorway, his face a mask of fear and fury.

XXXXXX

Heero took in the scene in a single glance. Apparently, Katherine was more than capable of taking care of herself. Just as he was about to let relief wash all over him, he noticed Katherine's ripped skirt. His abating anger suddenly flared up like an erupting volcano. _How dare they lay their filthy hands on her!_ He charged at the only remaining culprit, fists flying with a vengeance. Heero felt as if he was possessed. He kept on landing hard and merciless blows on the scumbag even after the other boy had obviously lost consciousness. So blinded with rage was he that when he felt restraining hands pulling him from behind, he roughly elbowed the person who was trying to stop him. The crash and the yelps of pain that ensued brought Heero back to his senses. Katherine was on the floor, massaging a head injury that he had just caused. Heero thought that he'd die on the spot. How could he commit the sin of hitting the girl he loved?

"Uh .... are you okay?" Heero had knelt down and was reaching out with a tentative hand. Katherine slapped the hand away and struck him. Not a slap, but a closed-fist blow that sent him reeling.

"You idiot! What were you trying to do?" she demanded in the tone of a mother disciplining her child. "You could have killed him! When will you ever learn how to use your brain instead of ...."

Heero muffled the rest of her scoldings with a crushing hug. He could feel every fibre in Katherine's body becoming taut but he did not - would not - let go. "Thank God you're alright." Katherine began to make sounds like strangled cat in his arms. Cursing himself for being such an uncouth barbarian, Heero quickly eased his hold on Katherine. However, he did not completely release her, forcing her to look into his eyes. She did not make any move to break free from his hold. _Does this mean that she does not hate me?_ The best way to find out was to ask. "Do you hate me, Katherine?"

Katherine's face portrayed a riot of emotions upon hearing his question. Surprise, sadness, guilt, sympathy, worry - Heero could not tell which was the dominant emotion. "Of course I ...." Katherine paused as if still in a dilemma in choosing her reply. "I .... don't hate you. I mean, why should I?"

Heero could not remember the last time he had felt so happy and relieved. _She doesn't hate me!_ For the time being, it was enough. He was about to hug her for a second time when she suddenly placed both palms on his chest and shoved him away. Her face had turned pink with embarrassment.

Only then did Heero realize that they were not alone. The doorway was crowded with a large number of spectators - the dean of the school being one of them.

XXXXXX

Sheila stood inconspicuously in the crowd, witnessing the failure of her plan. She should have known better than to trust those useless garbage to get the job done. There was not even a single cut on that despicable Katherine Kane! If things were to be done properly, she would have to depend on herself. It was time for plan B. Sheila reached into her pocket to feel for the spy camera she had prepared.

The Shoot Part 5 

Shang was poring over the personal particulars of Katherine Kane using the master terminal of the school when Sheila suddenly burst into the room, chest heaving and cheeks flushed into a crimson hue. "There you are! I've been searching all over the place for you." Sheila trotted to Shang's side, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Shang, you wouldn't believe what I've just discovered. I ......" Her expression darkened when she saw what was on the computer screen.

Shang had taken an extreme interest in Katherine Kane ever since his encounter with her at the Gabriel arcade. The thought of Shang being snatched away by that contemptible girl was more than she could bear. In her desperation to get rid of Katherine, she had approached the infamous 'Mean Max' - a big mistake on her part. _But no matter. When this news breaks out, Katherine will just kill her ... himself and save me the trouble of doing it myself._

Shang was looking patiently at her with eyes devoid of emotion. However, after months of associating with him, Sheila could detect his annoyance at her interruption. Sheila hurriedly cleared her throat and continued, "Shang, I know Katherine Kane's dark secret." A slight narrowing of Shang's eyes told her that she had gotten his attention. "She is a boy."

Shang's reaction disappointed her. She had expected him to become utterly disgusted and lose every fragment of his interest in Katherine Kane after knowing the truth. Instead, he questioned her further, his face dead serious. "How did you come by this information?"

"I ... just know." How could she tell Shang that she, poisoned with jealousy and malice, had resorted to taking Katherine's nude photograph to force her out of the school? It was a very low-down thing to do - even by her standards. What would Shang think of her if he knew?

"You don't have to give me the details. I just want to make sure this is true and not some story you have concocted."

"Of course it is true! Why would I lie about this?" It hurt when Shang distrusted her. Not that she was complaining .... Shang was distrustful of everyone around him, regardless of the period of association.

Shang switched off the computer and turned to Sheila so that they were now face to face - which was something Shang rarely did. In the past few months, every time she tried talking to Shang, it was either to the back of his head or to the side of his face. He had never bothered to look at her when they were talking. Even during the times when his eyes occasionally fell on her, she got the feeling that he was looking through her instead of at her. "Did you tell anyone else about this?"

"No." _But I'm going to._

"Good. Then don't do it."

"Huh?" Sheila could see no reason behind Shang's order. "Why shouldn't I? That guy is a drag, for goodness sake! People like him belong in asylums and shouldn't even be in school."

"I know you hate Kane." Sheila opened her mouth to protest but thought the better of it and shut up. She did not exactly try very hard to be less obvious about her hatred. "But this is important. I don't want Kane to leave this school. You mustn't breathe a word about this to anyone, not even to Kane himself."

_Why is Shang defending her ... him?!_ Face twisted with hurt and frustration, Sheila demanded, "Why? Didn't you hear what I've just said? Kane is a boy! A male! A ...."

"Sheila." Shang did not raise his voice but the command for silence underlying his tone quietened Sheila just as effectively. "Whether Kane is male or female makes no difference. I don't want him out of my sight."

Mistaking Shang's words for a love confession, Sheila paled considerably. "You ... you ...." Could it be that Shang was 'not interested' in girls? That could explain his absolute lack of response when members of the fairer sex did all sorts of things to attract his attention.

"Perhaps I should tell you this ..." Sheila hastily drew her attention back to what Shang was saying. "I plan to mind-link with Kane, with or without his consent."

_What?!_ "You can't be serious! That Kane boy is a mere civilian. A normal student. Not to mention that he is not even OZ's ...."

"Kane is not a mere civilian. Neither is he a normal student. He is a Gundam pilot."

Sheila thought she was becoming mad. The whole day had been a string of surprises, one after another - Kane a boy; Kane a Gundam pilot; Shang mind-linking with Kane. Shang had known this all along and had kept mum about it? It was treason of the highest order! "Shang. If this is true, we must inform our superiors." She was no longer speaking as a jealous, self-appointed girlfriend but as a soldier dedicated to her cause. "They would know what to do with him."

"They can have him only after he fails to link his mind with mine. Not before."

"Shang! What do you hope to achieve in linking your mind with his? Even if the mind link is successful - which I seriously doubt it will - he would still be the enemy! He would still have to die. I'm sure you wouldn't want to suffer a second severing of the bond."

Shang's hand shot out and gripped Sheila's neck, an intensity bordering on madness blazing out of his eyes. Sheila shivered despite her efforts to appear unafraid. "Any enemy of my wingmate is my enemy. Know this, Sheila, and know this well."

XXXXXX

The classroom at the end of the corridor vibrated with the noise generated by its dwellers. Rumour-mongers tendered juicy gossips which were greedily consumed by hungry minds. Rumours, like fire, start as a tiny spark but can spread very rapidly with abundant provision of fuel and air. There was no shortage of loose-tongued chatterboxes to feed and fan those flames and consequently, the entire school was engulfed in the space of one day. The names of Hojo Tsukasa and Katherine Kane hovered on the tip of nearly everyone's tongue.

"Good morning."

The flow of gossips screeched to an abrupt halt. One boy who had been leaning precariously on his chair wobbled, lost his balance and landed on the cement floor with a loud crash. Another boy, who was in the process of knife-sharpening his pencil, bit back a yell and sucked his nicked finger. The rest of the class dropped their jaws and were gaping at the speaker as if he had sprouted horns. Oblivious to the impact of his behaviour, the boy sauntered to his heavily-graffitied table next to the windows. (It is perhaps worth mentioning that the vandalism of this poor, harmless piece of furniture was done by bitter, jealous rivals who had tried to court Katherine Kane in the past). He hummed a happy tune as he did so.

A group of girls spent the next minute screwing their eyeballs back into their sockets before gathering together for a conference.

"Could that be Hojo Tsukasa?" whispered one of the girls incredulously. They stole another glance at the subject of their discussion. His usual beetled eyebrows and sullen eyes were absent.

"I say he's an imposter," concluded one girl.

"What happened to him? He's a totally different person!"

"So the rumours are true," said another girl in a bemused tone of voice.

"Rumours? You mean those about him and Katherine Kane?"

"Yes. And I heard from a reliable source that they had shared their first kiss three days ago."

"Kiss? They're that close already? No wonder he has been acting pretty weirdly these past few days."

"(Sigh) .... Love doth change a person completely." The one who spoke harboured a dreamy look in her eyes, her hands clasped close to her beating heart.

"Stop being so melodramatic, Susan!"

XXXXXX

"That's the guy who managed to lasso Katherine Kane."

"What? You mean that new Japanese student called ... what's his name ... Haji?"

"Hojo. Hojo Tsukasa, that lucky dog." The words were spoken with envy and grudging admiration.

Four pairs of eyes peered at the figure below from a classroom window on the third floor.

"Hey, haven't we seen him before? He looks familiar."

"Wait, isn't he the guy who was with Katherine at the arcade?"

"Yeah, the same guy who ......"

"Who is this Hojo Tsukasa?" interrupted a voice as calm as the eye of a tornado.

The four boys tensed and immediately put an end to their idle talk. Try as hard as they might, they were still not used to Shang **talking**. For those three months they spent hanging around Shang (with the hope that girls who directed their adoring eyes at Shang would notice them as well), they had only heard him speak once - and that was when they had asked for his name. All that had changed after the day at the arcade. Where Shang used to be indifferent, unresponsive and silent in the past, he was now the exact opposite - especially in matters concerning Katherine Kane. They attributed his disturbing transformation to his sore loser attitude, thinking that his obsession with Katherine was just an aftermath of the injury to his ego. After Shang had milked every drop of information they had regarding her, he ordered them to investigate and find out more. Kyle, who was not used to being ordered around, had learnt to obey Shang unquestioningly the hard way. He was still nursing the two broken fingers which served as his punishment for challenging Shang's orders. It was only then they remembered that Shang was the same dangerous person who had landed 'Mean Max' in the hospital. Definitely not a person to cross if you had any regard for your own skin.

One of the boys hastily replied, "Hojo is a new student from Japan who came to our school a week ago. I heard that he is an unsociable, introvert type of person .... you know, the type who hardly mixes around ..."

"I'm not interested in that. What is his connection with Katherine Kane?"

"Uh ... that is ... he's ...." gibbered the trembling boy under Shang's fiery glare.

Kyle came to his friend's rescue. "He is supposedly Katherine Kane's boyfriend. Rumours about the two of them had been circulating around the school." Kyle gazed intently at the laces of his shoes to avoid looking directly at Shang. He hoped the trembling in his legs was not discernible.

"Is that all you can tell me?"

Kyle nodded, his throat too constricted with fear to make a verbal reply.

Shang walked closer to the window and the four boys meekly parted to give way to him. "Which one is him?"

A shaky finger pointed Hojo Tsukasa out for him. Shang's eyes lingered on the mop of moss-green hair for no more than two seconds before its owner looked up to make eye contact. One of the skills that Cheng had imparted to him was the ability to read a person's eyes. _Eyes are the windows to the soul._ Shang studied the steely blue eyes that stared straight back at him fearlessly. He mentally scratched Hojo Tsukasa off his list of potential hostages. Whoever Hojo Tsukasa was, he was definitely not an easy victim.

XXXXXX

Mrs. Cecilia Rhodes - a small, compact woman with grey, wiry hair - had been teaching in the school since her early twenties. A dedicated and maternal teacher, she was especially concerned with the welfare of the students under her care. During her thirty years of service, she had been the confidante of many students facing the problems and worries of adolescence. She had met students who were trapped in the emotional whirlpool of B-G relationships. Students who had attempted suicide when the pressures of parents, peers and examinations were more than what they could cope with. Students who lived in constant misery after being repeatedly bullied by Mean Max and his gang.

Rape victims were the most difficult to handle. Such occurrences were rare and the culprits were normally adult perverts outside the school. Yesterday's incident had shown, for the first time, that perpetrators of such an atrocity could be the school's very own students. She had known that the boy would bring nothing but trouble and shame to the school the moment he was accepted. Her firm objections were ignored in the face of the huge monetary 'donation' to the school offered by Mean Max's parents. As the school was seriously under-funded at that time, the administration office had no choice but to comply with their wishes of having their precious son accepted into the school. As a result, the school staff could not expel Mean Max from school no matter how many times they received complaints about his treatment of both pupils and teachers.

_But what he did yesterday was unforgivable! He'll be lucky if he doesn't get thrown into the slammer._ She observed the girl who had fallen victim to Mean Max's raging hormones. The girl had too much beauty for her own good. It was a surprise to see Katherine Kane attending school as usual after the traumatizing incident yesterday. The girls she encountered in the past who had similar experiences needed at least a month of psychiatric aid before they could get on with their lives.

The poor girl must be stoically putting up a brave front so as not to worry the people around her. Well, she was definitely not letting any of her students suffer in silence alone.

"Katherine Kane."

"Yes, Mrs. Rhodes?" No hint of anguish in her voice. The girl was good in hiding her pain.

"See me in the staff lounge after this."

XXXXXX

Duo yawned noisily as he made his way to the staff lounge. He had not slept well last night due to another troubling experience with Heero yesterday evening. Duo had never seen Heero so furious before - he was like an enraged bull goring Mean Max upon sight. The pathetic boy was now lying in the hospital intensive care unit, bandaged like a mummy. Duo shook his head as he thought about this. Why was Heero risking his cover like this? Mean Max's parents would not take this quietly and the school authorities would be pressured to take action against Heero. Duo had wanted to shoulder all the blame but none of the teachers believed that a 'girl' with such a slim frame could defeat Mean Max and his gang alone. At this time, Heero willingly stepped out to bear the brunt of the blame .... for Katherine Kane.

He reverted his attention back to the matter at hand as the entrance to the staff lounge loomed before him. _I wonder why Mrs. Rhodes wants to see me._

No one else was in the lounge besides Mrs. Rhodes. Two mugs of steaming, black coffee were prepared on a glass table. "Take a seat and help yourself to the coffee."

Accepting her invitation, Duo did as he was told. He sipped his coffee silently, waiting for the teacher to speak first.

"I won't beat around the bush." Mrs Rhodes paused, as if deciding the best way to approach the heart of the discussion. "I heard about what happened yesterday. Do you want to talk about it?"

What's there to talk about? I'm sure she's not interested in finding out the number of ribs and teeth I had broken during the brawl yesterday. "Not really. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Oh, nothing is wrong. It's just that ... um ... I'd like to inform you that all those boys who were found in the sports equipment room with you yesterday were suspended from school for two weeks. Severe measures had been taken to deal with them, so you can rest assured that they will no longer be a threat to you in future."

"That's good." Mrs. Rhodes widened her eyes in surprise upon hearing Duo's reply. Her scrutiny made Duo feel self-conscious. _What does she expect me to say?_

"Katherine, I know it's hard for you to think, let alone talk, about your... experience. But keeping everything shut in will only make it worse. I won't betray your trust. You can unload your fears on me."

"Wha ....?" blurted Duo. He could not tell where this conversation was headed. He took another sip of coffee to wet his throat which was becoming dry.

"I've talked with girls who had been sexually assaulted before, so I perfectly understand how you're feeling ......"

Duo choked on his coffee and went into an extended fit of coughing. While his ciliated windpipe was busy sweeping up droplets of beverage that had gone down the wrong tube, Duo began to understand why his classmates were behaving strangely around him since early morning. Sympathetic looks were thrown at him and even Doyce and Laila were consciously avoiding his eyes. _Can't blame them for jumping into that conclusion... the torn skirt and ruffled hair were enough to give anyone that idea._ After his coughing subsided, Duo spoke up. "Mrs. Rhodes....."

"... there comes a time for you to put all these unpleasant memories behind you and ...."

"Mrs. Rhodes!"

"What is it, Katherine?" She was slightly miffed by the manner in which she was interrupted.

"None of that sort happened yesterday."

A moment of silence. "You mean you're not ...."

"I'm not," confirmed Duo grimly.

Duo could see her face taking up the colour of fresh, ripe apples. Still retaining her composure, she stood up and walked to the coffee-making machine in the corner. "More coffee?"

XXXXXX

Heero had stationed himself at the school main gate, his eyes on the lookout for a particular violet-eyed girl with long, chestnut-brown hair. If he was lucky enough, he just might get the chance to walk Katherine back to the dormitory. Even as he was thinking about this, he could not help feeling a pang of guilt for jeopardizing his mission with his passion for the girl. He had stopped denying his feelings for Katherine Kane. The ribbon, the kiss, the suffocating emotions – it had all amounted to one thing. He was in love. Hopelessly in love.

"Will you all please leave me alone!" Heero immediately turned to the source of that voice, fully alert. He saw his dream girl surrounded by a mob of at least fifty males. The green worm of jealousy began to consume the core of his heart.

"But Katherine, a girl like you needs protection. We are more than willing to help," claimed one sincere-sounding voice.

"Please don't misunderstand. We're doing this because we care for you," chimed in another.

"With us around, you will have nothing to fear. We'll beat up any guy who dares to lay a finger on you." The hand of the boy who said this was slowly making its way to one of Katherine's shoulders.

"Didn't you hear what she just said? Leave her alone." Heero's bone-biting, icy voice carried with it a measure of threat. The boys forming Katherine's convoy froze in their tracks. The rumours about how Hojo Tsukasa had single-handedly thrashed Mean Max and his entire gang were still fresh in their minds.

Katherine took advantage of the distraction to break free from the protective shell of boys, her face mirroring great relief. She walked directly towards Heero and wrapped her arms around his left arm, taking him completely by surprise. A pleasant surprise. He could feel the softness of her.... Heero grimly pulled his mind out of the pigsty.

Katherine faced the overzealous boys who had been dogging her footsteps around the school. "Hojo Tsukasa shall provide the 'protection' I need. So I suggest that all of you stop pestering me before I ask him to give a demonstration of what he does to people who pester me."

Taking the hint, the crowd in front of them dispersed in ten seconds. Katherine turned to Heero after the last of her convoy disappeared from sight, her lips forming a grateful smile. "Thanks for your help. I was at my wits' end trying to figure out how to dispel that irritating bunch."

Heero's heart soared with joy. For some reason, he had only been successful in making Katherine angry and frustrated with him during his previous encounters with her. This was the first time that she reacted warmly to his actions. _Strike while the iron is hot. Confess your feelings to her now!_ It was a command screamed out by every cell in his body.

Heero gripped both of Katherine's shoulders, his fingers rigid with tension. He opened his mouth, hoping fervently that words would not fail him now. "Katherine, I ...."

Cat-calls and wolf-whistles erupted from the students and bystanders who had congregated around them. Heero could see Katherine's face colouring. The last time this happened, she had proceeded to place as much distance between them as possible. Without further hesitation, he took hold of Katherine's hand and pulled her along as he beat a hasty retreat from the scene. "We can't talk here. Follow me." Katherine allowed herself to be dragged along without much resistance.

XXXXXX

In the crowd, Laila patted Doyce's back in an attempt to cheer the other girl up. "Why the long face, woman? You saw the rewards of our efforts. There is no doubt that they'll be together now."

Doyce was still torturing herself with yesterday's events. "Of course I'm happy for them, Laila. But ... how can I face Katherine now? She could have been ...." Doyce choked with unshed tears. ".... And it would be all my fault!"

"But nothing happened, right? Mrs. Rhodes had told us that Katherine was perfectly fine."

"But ...."

Laila rapped Doyce's head with a knuckle, cutting off her whimpers. "Stop blaming yourself for something that is not your fault. I don't want to see anymore of this masochistic behaviour."

Doyce wiped away the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes and nodded. She blew noisily into her wet tissue and gratefully accepted another one from Laila.

"I think we'd better go back to the dorm now. It is getting late."

Unbeknownst to the two girls, they were observed by a pair of azure eyes burning with a cold fire.

The Shoot Part 6 

"Hojo! Where are you taking me?" Umbrella-shaped trees with gnarled trunks surrounded them, leaves forming a continuous canopy that screened out much of the evening sunlight. They had reached a piece of forested land at the edge of the school compound. There was no third soul in sight.

Duo had mixed feelings about this confrontation with Heero. He was not so obtuse as to miss seeing the beast-strong emotions pulsating in Heero's eyes when the Japanese pilot held him a moment ago. He had wanted to run away from Heero then – the situation was getting extremely 'sticky' and he hadn't a clue on how to settle the problem. Maybe it would have been better for him to reveal himself. And less cruel to Heero too. As Duo was considering this course of action, Heero stopped walking and faced him once again. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The mating calls of crickets echoed in the woods, occasionally punctuated with the sound of squirrels scampering from branch to branch.

It felt like an eternity before Heero broke the silence, his cool-as-a-winter's-night voice contradicting with the warm glow in his eyes. "Katherine." Duo gulped down the lump in his throat. "How will you respond if I say I care a lot about you?"

Heero **could not** have been more unromantic. Nevertheless, Duo'd heartbeat still shot up to a suffocating rate. _This is ridiculous! We're supposed to be on an important mission and here we are, falling in love with each other ..... No! No! No!_ A stubborn part of Duo's mind was still in denial. Heero was in love with Katherine Kane. Not Duo Maxwell! This whole misunderstanding was just the regrettable result of a joke gone too far. It was time to put an end to all this craziness once and for all. To hell with the dangers of being labelled as a sissy and being pulverized by Heero.

"Hee.... Hojo...." Duo had wanted to call out Heero's name. His brain, however, refused to cooperate. _Why am I so afraid to let him know the truth?_ Was it because he didn't have the heart to shatter Heero's illusions about this non-existent character called Katherine Kane? If Heero was still his old, statue-like self, Duo would have no qualms about shocking him with the revelation of Katherine Kane and Duo Maxwell being the same person. However, Heero was anything **but** his old self. He had become undeniably human - hot blood, warm flesh and tender kiss. Very much unlike the ice-cold, rock-hard boy he was used to. He could not imagine how Heero would react upon learning the truth. _Most likely he'll kill me .... and enjoy thoroughly every second of the process._ Duo shuddered, an icicle travelling down his spine. Hopefully, he could end this confrontation without ever letting Heero know. Heero did not need to know - Katherine Kane would disappear from the school just as suddenly as she had appeared. His three weeks were nearly up anyway.

Duo hardened his heart and worked his cheek muscles to form the most scornful and mocking countenance. "I'll laugh in your face and walk away."

"Katherine, I'm serious."

"Who says I'm joking? I don't need the emotional burdens of an infatuated fool." Duo could not bring himself to look into Heero's eyes.

"What I feel for you is definitely not infatuation."

"You don't call it infatuation? We have hardly met more than three times! How much do you know about me? And I know close to nothing about you!" _Has Heero forgotten that he is a Gundam pilot who can't possibly afford to have normal human relationships? What does he plan to do once he gets his next mission? Cast Katherine off like a pair of worn out shoes?_

"I know everything about you."

If there was any wind in the forest, Duo would have been knocked off his feet. Could Heero have known all along?! He was seized by an emotion that was part fear and part .... delight. "What do you know?" rasped Duo, a slight tremor in his voice.

As if reciting from memory, Heero rattled on about every single detail of Duo's false identity - Katherine Kane's birthday, her family background, the names of the foster parents currently taking care of her, the schools she used to attend and even her medical allergies. It did not take long for Duo to figure out that Heero had been using his hacking skills to find information that had nothing to do with his mission. Duo had never talked much about Katherine's past since his entry into the school - so Heero could not possibly have known through hear-say. It was more of a shock than a surprise to discover Heero compromising precious mission time on trivial matters such as this. _Maybe Heero does not consider this to be a trivial matter._ Duo's purposefully numbed heart was starting to ache.

Duo let out a harsh, bitter laugh. He could not help it. It was such an amusing paradox - Heero knowing everything and nothing about Katherine Kane at the same time. It was just so damned funny. Duo's laughter did not hold any mirth.

Heero was gazing at him perplexedly. "Why are you laughing?"

Duo drew breath in between laughs to break in a reply. "Because I want to. You got a problem with that?"

Heero waited patiently for Duo's near-hysterical laughter to die away. "You still don't believe that I'm serious about you, do you?" Duo made no answer, his sore diaphragm made it difficult for him to talk. Duo turned his face away from the hurt look

on Heero's face. _An optical illusion._ Duo reassured himself without conviction. _Rocks do not feel anything._ "Katherine, look at me." _Rocks do not ...._

"Katherine!" Duo's shoulders were once more hostages of Heero's searing hands. Duo had no choice but to face those intense eyes again. "I know I'm not good at words. I can't even let you know half the things I want to tell you. I ..." Heero stopped in mid-sentence, evidently at a loss of words to express himself. Just as Duo was deciding whether or not to break free and flee, Heero lifted his right hand and slid something cool around one of his fingers. It was a ring - a circular, silvery band set with a multi-faceted sapphire gemstone. Duo silently stared at the ornament on his finger in disbelief. Heero was serious. Very serious.

"I want you to keep this." Heero cleared his throat before continuing. "You know what the ring means. I don't need your reply immediately. Just keep it with you. It is a token of my lo... my.... uh..." After a few more failed attempts to complete his sentence, Heero gave up and kept quiet. Silence resumed its reign in the forest.

The ache in Duo's heart became worse. He was smitten by Heero's affection for Katherine Kane. _Not Duo Maxwell._ Heero never had a kind word for Duo Maxwell. In the past, Heero made him feel lower than a snake's navel .... if snakes ever had navels. His bubbly exuberance was always held in check by Heero's solemnity. Every time he tried to crack a joke to lighten the mood, Heero would impale him with a cold glare or worse yet, a cutting remark. Duo had masked his pain and injured feelings behind silly grins and smiling eyes; at the same time trying to convince himself that words would never hurt him. But they did hurt him, and hurt him a great deal. Why was he thinking of all these things now? Was he hoping that the desire for revenge would make his next task easier? But there wasn't any desire for revenge. There never was and there never will be.

"You can have my reply now." With Heero's eyes trained on him, Duo removed the ring on his finger and threw it on the leaf-carpeted floor. He raised a foot and stamped on it savagely.

Heero's entire body convulsed as if Duo's heeled shoe was stepping on his heart instead of his ring. His voice came out as a hoarse whisper. "Why? You said yesterday that you don't hate me." It was amazing that Heero could still speak so detachedly.

"I don't hate chocolate cakes too. Shall I get betrothed to food too?" It was even more amazing that Duo could crack a joke, however lame, at a time like this. Duo hated himself for doing this to Heero. "Please don't approach me again in future. Do I have your promise on this?"

"Kathe......."

"Do I have your promise?" repeated Duo, louder this time.

They exchanged heated glances while the air crackled with tension around them. Finally, Heero nodded. "If that is your wish." His voice sounded hollow, like an empty husk. A cloud of gloom seemed to have settled on the boy, transforming him into the old, emotionless Heero Yuy he was all too familiar with. Heero walked away without another word or a backward glance.

Only when Duo was sure that Heero had stepped out of the boundaries of sight and sound did he collapse on the ground. His hands sought the sapphire ring and put it back on his naked finger. It would serve to remind him that Heero's heart once belonged to him. _Not Duo Maxwell._ Duo felt like laughing again.

XXXXXX

Heero's heart felt as if it was skewered by a thousand pins. The pain caused by Relena's cold attitude towards him was nothing compared to the pain caused by Katherine's simple rejection. It was his fault. He had bared his heart, made himself vulnerable and gave Katherine the knife to cut it into pieces. This was what his past mentors had warned him about; and he had foolishly ignored their teachings. His emotions were like a reservoir, formed by a dam of concrete self-control. Somehow, Katherine had managed to breach all his carefully-structured defenses and break that dam, causing his emotions to gush out in a torrent. It was impossible for him to recall it back.

Heero felt lethargic and drained, as if the sheer emotional load had sapped his strength. The day - which had appeared very bright and sunny a moment ago - suddenly seemed so bleak to his eyes. Heero took comfort in the thought that the weather in the physical world reflected the one in his heart.

XXXXXX

As Duo was making his way back to his room in the dormitory, he could not stop pondering about his own feelings towards Heero. Duo realized that somewhere along the line, the fear of exposure of his real identity was no longer due to shame or the fear of what Heero would do to him. True, there had been a constant fear lurking in his mind ever since Heero started to reveal his human side to Katherine - the fear that he would no longer be the recipient of Heero's care and concern once Heero found out the truth. He wanted to see Heero's smile again .... _What is wrong with me?!_ Duo unlocked his door and stepped into his room.

If Duo had not been so emotionally troubled, his instincts would have alerted him to the fact that he was not alone in his room before he even closed the door behind him. The pitch-black figure which was standing still in a corner of the dark room made its presence known by letting out a polite cough. Duo froze, his hand hovering over the light switch. _Who ....?_ He distinctly remembered locking his door before he left in the morning. The intruder could not possibly be friendly. Duo had hidden his pistol underneath a pile of clothes in the cupboard. _Too late to get that now._ His unwelcomed visitor should have spent enough time in the room to adjust to the darkness - meaning that he had no chance of escape if the intruder was holding a gun and ill intentions. And he had hesitated too long to consider bolting out of the room. So that only left the option of switching on the lights. If he was fast enough, he could use the time required for the intruder's eyes to get used to the sudden brightness to jump for cover behind the writing desk. Duo bent his knees slightly in preparation to sprint.

"Don't get so tensed up. I have come unarmed," said a voice that was somewhere in between tenor and baritone. Duo could not recognize the owner of that voice. "What are you waiting for? Switch on the lights and we'll talk." Thinking that he might have overreacted a little, Duo flicked the switch. Light from the fluorescent lamps on the ceiling flooded the room. Duo drew in a deep breath.

The mysterious intruder was Shang. _But why would he ....?_

As if reading the question from Duo's expression, Shang replied, "I've come so that we can talk. In private." From Shang's tone of voice, it would seem that the boy regarded his actions - breaking into a girl's room in the middle of the night - as totally justifiable in the face of his purpose.

While recovering from his shock and puzzlement, Duo snapped, "In case you have forgotten, this is a girl's dormitory. **Strictly** out of bounds to boys. I suggest you scram before I summon the warden who has a reputation of flaying male trespassers alive."

Shang's expression did not change. "You can do that." Shang's lips curled to form a ghost of an amused smile. "But the warden will find two males here instead of one."

Duo started. What does he mean by that last statement? His eyes quickly scanned the room for more intruders.

"You can stop pretending now. I know everything about you - who you really are and what you are doing in this school." There was a serious sense of _deja vu_ here. "Does the name 'Gundam' ring a bell to you?"

Duo's heart nearly stopped beating. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Shang started to walk slowly towards Duo in small strides. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation another time. If you want to carry on acting as 'Katherine Kane', there is nothing I can do to stop you. However, I tire of this deception." Shang tossed something at Duo which he snatched from mid-air. Duo opened his palm, revealing a pair intricately-carved golden ear rings. He recognized the ear rings to be the ones that had never left Laila's earlobes. A chill gripped Duo's heart.

The smile on Shang's face was more obvious this time. "I see that you recognize it. If you care about the safety of the two girls concerned, meet me on the roof of the school administration block tomorrow night at eight o' clock. Alone."

Duo's eyes did not leave the pair of ear rings even as Shang walked past him and out of the room. His hand began to tremble. Who was Shang? And why was he doing this? Duo had no answers to those questions.

The Shoot Part 7 

The rooftop of the administration block was as silent as a graveyard. The silvery moon had hid its face behind a thin veil of gray clouds, its dim rays casting indistinct shadows. A trained eye would have noticed that one of the shadows appeared darker - more substantial. A more careful examination would reveal the silhouette of a human figure.

Duo had shed the guise of his alter ego, Katherine Kane. His long, willowy hair was entwined in his usual thick braid. He wore a black top with rolled up sleeves and matching slacks that blended him nicely with the black night. It was fifteen minutes before the appointed time.

Nearly his whole day was spent thinking about his encounter with Shang the previous night. Shang was no ordinary student; of that, Duo was very sure. A gut feeling told him that Shang was working for OZ. _But if that is the case, why didn't he just put a bullet through my head at where I stood last night? Why go through all the trouble of abducting Doyce and Laila? _His actions didn't make sense! There was only one logical explanation for this - Shang did not want him dead. Or rather, what he wanted from Duo could not be extracted from a corpse. Information perhaps? _Does he think I'm foolish enough to be_

_captured alive?_

Captured ... despite his efforts to cloak himself with an air of indifference, the genuine fear for the lives of those two girls was still acutely felt. Heero had called him a fool for letting his heart rule his mind during important missions. Duo had to agree with him this time. If he had distanced himself from Doyce and Laila and rejected their offered friendship right from the beginning, they would never be targeted by his enemies. Their lives would never be endangered.

The pin-drop silence was shattered by the light scrape of a shoe against the rough floor. The illumination by the moon was just sufficient for Duo to make out Shang's face, which he scrutinized more thoroughly this time. He dismissed the white lock of hair as nothing more than the result of a few wonky genes. The eyes ... something about them struck a familiar cord in Duo; as if he had seen their like before. _Trowa._ Shang's eyes were identical to Trowa's. Vacant eyes that held no spark of life.

Shang turned his body to face the patch of solid shadow that was Duo. "So, you have come." Even his voice reminded Duo of Trowa's sleep-inducing monotone.

Duo detached himself from the shadows, the barrel of his pistol aimed right between Shang's eyes.

XXXXXX

_So this is how Cheng's killer really looks like._ The teenager standing before him was about his age, swathed in clothes that were as black as the Gundam he piloted. The glint of metal in Kane's hand generated no more than a raised eyebrow from Shang.

"I don't see the girls. Where are they?" The falsetto was gone, replaced by a cool, calm voice that was distinctly male.

"They are safe for the time being. You need not worry about them." The first question he asked was about those two girls. _Can it be that this cold-blooded murderer has human emotions?_

"Perhaps you didn't hear me correctly." Kane thumbed the safety of his gun off with a faint but audible click. "Where are they?"

"As I said before, they are safe. And you can stop threatening me with that pistol of yours. I only want to talk." Seeing that Duo made no move to lower his weapon, Shang smirked. "Are you so afraid of me that you won't feel safe without that thing pointing at me?"

The gun held by Kane did not waver. "Do you think I won't pull the trigger? I've killed before and I'll kill again just as readily."

Kane was impervious to his taunts. Good. The last thing Shang wanted was a short-tempered hothead as his wingmate. "I know perfectly well that you are a very experienced and accomplished killer. I'm quite surprised that you have come to meet me tonight. Death to you should be like water off a duck's back, shouldn't it? After the way you have been slaughtering people by the thousands, why should two more deaths matter to you so much that you are willing to put your life on the line for them?"

"I'm not risking my neck for anyone. The main reason why I have come is to find out who the hell you are before I send you to hell." The tone of Kane's voice was so cold and deliberate that Shang would have believed him if he didn't see the lie in Kane's eyes.

"If that is the only thing you have come for, I'll grant you your wish." Kane's face registered bafflement. _Maybe he thought that I would only talk under duress._ "We have not met before this, but what brought my attention to you was an incident that occurred near Salt Lake City five months ago." A look of recognition fleeted past Kane's visage. "Remember? You were there, wiping out every living soul at the military base. Cheng ..." Words died on Shang's lips at the mention of his dead wingmate's name. The memory of Cheng's death still burned in his mind ... and the thirst for revenge. Shang wondered why he didn't choose to destroy the boy in front of him.

"Who is Cheng?" asked Kane.

Shang had to curb his impulse to rush towards Kane and beat him black and blue. Sheila, who had asked him the same question two months ago, had learnt not to utter Cheng's name in his presence. "He is one of the victims of your killing spree, you maker of orphans and widows!" Shang tried to regain his composure but anguish and anger prevented him. "We were there minding our own business, when you suddenly appeared with that Gundam of yours and started killing everyone in sight! You and the rest of your Gundam-piloting team started this bloody war! Killing, always killing! What do you know about the extent of damage and suffering you have caused?"

Patches of red blotched Kane's cheeks. "I don't have to take this from anyone, least of all an OZ underdog like you. **We** started the war?" Kane let out a harsh, scornful laugh. "I don't know what kind of a bullshit story OZ has been feeding you and I don't really care. What I do know is that once a person decides to don a soldier's uniform, he must be mentally prepared to kill and be killed."

Shang sneered. "And that justifies your actions? You have never considered the possibility that the soldier whose blood you soak the ground with will have friends and families who will mourn his death, have you?"

"I have never bothered to justify my actions." Kane's reply was barely audible. "When a life perishes under a sword, does it really matter who wielded the sword or why the sword was wielded in the first place? Seeking justifications for killing is a form of self-deception. Belief that you're destroying lives for the right cause only serves to reduce the torment of your conscience."

Kane's words echoed Cheng's sentiments. For a brief moment, Shang imagined Cheng's face overlapping Kane's. _Well, sport, humans fight against each other for many reasons - wealth, revenge, territory, power, religion.. and the most ironic of all.. peace. But all these so-called reasons are just excuses. Violence is never justified._ Those were Cheng's exact words; words which Shang had accepted as life's truths.

Shang's chaotic long tresses were obscuring his vision and he flicked them away from his face with a toss of his head. Cheng's apparition had disappeared, leaving behind Kane who was very much like Cheng. And very much alive. Shang could not resist smiling at Kane who then frowned at him in a puzzled manner. "I have no wish to drag this idle chit-chat. The girls you seek are presently in their room in the girls' dormitory. You will find them there."

XXXXXX

Duo bounded up the stairs leading to the second floor where the room occupied by Doyce and Laila was situated. He took great care not to be seen by any girls who would most likely scream their heads off and alarm everyone in the dormitory.

Duo had left the meeting with Shang without using any of his bullets. He could not kill Shang before confirming that Doyce and Laila were at where Shang said they would be. And Shang knew this all too well. However, that didn't stop Duo from jabbing Shang's solar plexus just to deliver home the message that he was not to be messed with.

Duo arrived at the door of the room of the two girls. Bracing himself for the worst, he turned the door knob and opened the door. He drew in a sharp intake of breath. _No...._

Two prone bodies were lying on the floor. Duo wasted no time in rushing to the still bodies of Doyce and Laila to test for warm breath from their nostrils. He resumed breathing only after he was sure that they were alive. They still had a healthy colour in their cheeks, which increased his relief further. He gently lifted their bodies from the floor and placed the girls on their respective beds.

"I'm sorry for putting both of you through this ordeal," said Duo softly, even though he knew that neither of them could hear him. Duo dug his hands into his pockets for Laila's ear rings, which he then put back on her ear lobes.

"That was a nasty blow you gave me just now."

_Shang!_ Duo whirled and was on the balls of his feet in a flash. The pistol was out and pointing at the boy who stood some distance before the entrance of the room. Duo discovered that he was having a hard time aiming a clean shot at Shang. There were two Shangs, which merged and separated repeatedly to give him a splitting headache. His vision was darkening around the edges and the weapon in his hand felt as if it weighed a tonne. _What the .... so this is what Shang had in mind._ Duo turned the pistol on himself. They were not going to take him alive.

In his befuddled state, Duo could have sworn that Shang had teleported to his side to wrest the pistol from his hand. The outcome of the struggle was greatly shifted in Shang's favour as Duo had inhaled too much gas. Duo managed to squeeze off one shot before his knees buckled.

XXXXXX

The bullet had embedded itself in Shang's left shoulder and blood was oozing out in a viscous flow. It was a good thing that the gun had a silencer. Shang ignored the pain in his shoulder. What mattered now was Kane - he had to be moved to the underground OZ base. Then the mind-linking program could begin.

Sheila appeared behind Shang and her face became twisted with worry and rage after taking in the scene. Malice poisoned her thoughts as she looked down at the unconscious boy at her feet. Her plan to deliver a savage kick to Kane's temple was thwarted when Shang scooped her feet from under her. She landed heavily on her back, all her breath knocked out of her lungs.

"I would appreciate it if you refrain from harming Kane until the mind link fails. Harm him before that and I'll kill you." Sheila's pupils dilated with fear and shock. "Do you understand me?" Sheila swallowed and nodded her head mutely.


	3. The Bud

The Bud Part 1 

_She is not in school today._ The moment the thought formed in Heero's mind, he quickly crushed the rest of the memories that tagged along with the word 'she'. Every time his thoughts wandered back to the girl, the pain of her rejection would cut him like the sharpest of blades. Heero did not understand. He should feel relieved. The girl was too much of a hindrance to his mission. If she did not take the first step to end that impossible relationship between them, common sense would have advised Heero to end it himself. What was he trying to achieve by fashioning that ring for her? He was a fool ... a fool who had let his heart rule his mind. It occurred to Heero that he had used those exact same words to describe someone else before. Who...?

"Hey, so how are you getting along with Katherine Kane?" Heero turned to the speaker with a face that could curdle milk. If the speaker had been a boy, teeth would be littered all over the floor at that moment. The speaker's teeth.

Realizing that a sensitive topic was touched, the girl hastily tried to figure out a way to escape from Hojo's cold, penetrating eyes. Her companions ended her speculation by dragging her away, forcefully.

"Susan, you dolt! What were you trying to do?" scolded one of the girls who was dragging the speaker.

"I'm just trying to be friendly, that's all! How would I know that he would turn on me as if I had killed his entire family or something?" Hojo's actions baffled her. Just two days ago, he was as warm and bright as sunshine. Now, he is ..... Susan shuddered to recall the expression on the boy's face.

"If you have the least bit of a woman's intuition, you would have realized that mentioning Katherine Kane is the last thing you should do in front of him right now."

"Huh?" Puzzled, Susan asked, "Why?"

"You mean you don't know? It is the biggest news in school this morning!"

"What news?" Now Susan's curiosity was really aroused.

"The news that Katherine Kane has left this school, you ninny! Nearly every student has been talking about it since morning."

"WHAT?!!" It was not Susan who had shouted the question aloud.

Hojo Tsukasa suddenly appeared before the group of girls. They shrank away from him at the sight of his contorted face. "What you just said. Is it true?"

The girls trembled in their shoes. "Ye ... Yesss.....!" stammered one girl with the posture of a mouse facing a cat with razor-sharp teeth. "As... Ask Laila or Doyce. They should know...."

Hojo bolted out of the classroom. The weak-kneed girls promptly collapsed with relief.

XXXXXX

His legs were bringing him to the classroom that Katherine used to study in. _Why am I doing this now?_ Didn't he just make the decision to have nothing to do with the girl, ever again? So what if she had left the school? So what if he would never see her again? Why should he care? His aching heart released him from his confusion. _I want to see her again._

XXXXXX

"Tell me it is not true!" pleaded the pathetic boy in front of Doyce and Laila. He was the sixth boy to affront them since the news broke out. Laila rolled her eyes skyward and from the way she folded her arms, Doyce could tell that she was trying very hard to stop herself from slapping him senseless.

"Get this message across that thick skull of yours... Katherine Kane is gone! Okay? Now would you leave us alone?!" Laila shoved the boy aside and continued walking down the corridor, followed shortly by a puffing Doyce.

Laila ground her teeth and Doyce tried to cool her friend down. "Why are you so angry, Laila?"

Seeing the worry in her friend's eyes, Laila's demeanour softened. "It's just that these boys are driving me nuts. Here we are, suffering the loss of a close friend and there they are, lamenting over the loss of a girl on their list of worthwhile conquests. The next guy who asks me about Katherine is going to...."

"I want to ask you about Katherine." The soft voice came from behind them.

Doyce looked behind her while Laila slowly counted to ten. Laila felt like a barrel of gunpowder surrounded by sparks. She was about to lash out when the look on Doyce's face stopped her. "It is Hojo Tsukasa," Doyce whispered. Laila immediately turned to face him. A gasp nearly escaped from her lips when she saw the wretched look on the boy's visage. Katherine did not even bid him farewell before she left?

"What do you want to know?" asked Laila, her voice no longer harsh and irritable.

"Before she left, did she..." Hojo's voice faltered a bit at this point. "Did she leave any messages for me?"

His voice sounded so wishful that Laila was tempted to lie. "No." Laila cleared her throat and repeated it more loudly. "No, she didn't."

"Then did she tell you where she is going?" How did the boy manage to keep his voice under such cool control?

Laila shook her head sadly. "She didn't say anything about that too. She seemed determined not to let anyone know her whereabouts."

The silence following Laila's reply was loud. "I understand. Thank you." Hojo left, but not before Laila caught a glimpse of the impact her words had on his facial expression.

"Poor Hojo," sympathized Doyce who was standing beside her. "What Katherine did was cruel."

Laila nodded silently. She could have cooked up some story to make Hojo feel better but it would not have been right for her to do so. Her memories told her that Katherine had appeared in their room one night and hugged each of them goodbye. There was no mention of Hojo at all. Laila frowned. _Even if Katherine didn't mention Hojo, I'm sure both Doyce and I would have brought the topic up._ Maybe their sorrow of parting with Katherine was so great until it completely slipped their minds. But something about the night they saw Katherine for the last time felt.... wrong. She shook off her perplexity after a while. It was foolish of her to doubt her own memory. Memories never lie.

XXXXXX

_Ask 1 to watch out for 3. _

_KK-DM _

Shang quietly read the message sent by Kane which Sheila had helped him to intercept. Sheila could not make head or tail of the message, but Shang was able to decipher it in a single glance. The message was sent to warn Kane's comrades about him - the number 3 sounded like 'Shang' in Chinese. As for the number 1, Shang was still unable to tell who it was supposed to symbolize. But logic told him that '1' was one of Kane's comrades, most probably someone who had infiltrated the school together with Kane.

However, Kane's actions could be seen as nothing but puzzling. Why didn't he just inform this comrade '1' by word of mouth, since they were staying in the same school? Maybe Kane was cautious enough to notice Shang following his every move on the day when they were supposed to meet at night. Kane's caution was going to cost him some trouble. Since '1' could not be identified and secretly eliminated, he and Sheila would have to continue attending school as usual to avoid suspicion. Then there were the other necessary precautions to take. Kane... Shang's eyes softened as he thought about his newly acquired wingmate. He hadn't found out Kane's real name yet. _But no matter, I will know everything there is to know about him soon enough._ Shang looked forward to the establishment of the bond between them, his lips forming one of his rare genuine smiles.

XXXXXX

The ribbon hung limply in Heero's hands. He should just burn it or throw it away. _Why am I torturing myself like this?_

A red light began flashing in his wrist watch. It was the signal of incoming messages from his commanding officer. Heero switched on his laptop and continued to stare at the ribbon as his computer carried out its task. He still could not accept the fact that Katherine had disappeared from his life, maybe forever. He clenched his fists, crushing the silky strip of cloth in his palm. Damn the girl for doing this to him!

Heero proceeded to read the instructions on the computer screen. Nothing he read registered in his brain until the last paragraph. His eyes caught the word 'Duo Maxwell' and he hastily scrolled the message upwards to read from the beginning of the paragraph.

...I would also like you to check up on Duo Maxwell who is currently working undercover in the school you are in ...

Duo? Impossible. He could spot that metre-long braid a mile away. Heero read on.

...He hasn't reported back this week and this matter is of much concern....

Duo missing? That could explain why he saw no sign of the American boy at all.

.... his alias is Katherine Kane....

Heero froze. The ceiling, the walls and all the furniture in the room seemed to have melted away. His entire being was focused on those two words on the screen.

.... Katherine Kane....

Heero reread the paragraph again and again. The meaning of the words did not change. _Duo is Katherine Kane._ The revelation descended on him like a tonne of bricks. Heero felt as if the world around him had stood still and began crumbling into pieces.

How could he have been so blind? The clues were there right in front of him all the time - the way 'she' exclaimed "Jeez!" when 'she' was agitated, the way 'she' was able to carry out hours of monologue, the way 'she' teased him about his quiet disposition, the way 'she' made him feel....

Heero's first reaction was intense shame. His first and only love had turned out to be that.... that.... Unused to this emotion, Heero transformed it into fury. Fury gave him strength, its fires burning more strongly than that of shame. How the American pilot must have laughed at him behind his back! Everything was one huge joke for him laugh at! Everything! Even when he had placed his heart on the chopping board, Duo must have seen it as no more than an opportunity to slice and dice it for amusement. Amusement!

A sudden, tearing sound jolted him out of his stupor. The ribbon in his hands was ripped into two pieces. Heero coldly contemplated the ruined ribbon as if it was something hideous and repulsive. The owner would suffer the same fate as the fabric in his hands... _as soon as I get my hands on him! _

The Bud Part 2 

The barrier was intact, a formidable shield that effectively blocked him out of Kane's mind. He had spent hours searching and feeling for weak spots that could provide him with an easy entry, but to no avail. However, his efforts were not totally wasted as the condition of Kane's subconscious gave him clues to Kane's complex character.

The thick, impregnable barrier spoke of a person who was afraid to open out his heart for fear of being hurt by anyone or anything. A person who protected himself by pretending to be a person that he was not. Shang could feel that Kane's true self, or core, lay behind the barrier. The core was the site where the mind link can occur. From the thickness of the barrier, Shang deduced that Kane seldom revealed his true self. There was a high probability Kane himself was not even aware that the personality he had shown was merely a front to conceal a tortured soul underneath. It was a surprising discovery for Shang, considering that he had seen how happy and carefree Kane had appeared to be in school.

Convinced that nothing more could be gained by studying the barrier from the outside, Shang tentatively sent out a tendril of his mind into the barrier. His aim was more to find out what had caused the barrier to be formed than to penetrate it.

He was immediately sucked into a spinning world of colour and shadow. He caught fleeting glimpses of images that meant nothing to him. A convent on fire. Charred corpses. Tears mingled with blood. And all the time, intense emotions of anguish and self-reproach buffeted him from all sides.

_IT WAS MY FAULT..._

_What?_

_IT WAS MY FAULT..._

_What is your fault? What happened? _Even as Shang projected his thoughts out, he could feel the link between his mind and body weakening. He was delving too deeply into Kane's subconscious, inviting the risk of being trapped forever in Kane's mind and having his link to his physical body severed. However, Shang's desire to know pushed all thoughts of danger to the back of his mind.

A pregnant silence greeted Shang's questions. Shang could sense defensive energies gathering around him even as Kane's feelings of shock and fear assaulted him.

_WHO ARE YOU?_

_I mean no harm. I just want to know..._

_LEAVE!_

_I feel your pain. I want to know why..._

_LEAVE ME ALONE!!_

Shang felt himself being propelled out of the barrier by a tremendous force. Shang's eyes opened widely the moment his mind was slammed back into his body. With cold sweat bathing his forehead, Shang's eyes slowly brought a girl's face into focus. The girl's face took on a relieved expression upon seeing his return.

"Thank goodness you're alright! Your brain signals became so weak a moment ago that I thought..."

"Not so loud, Sheila. My head hurts," interrupted Shang coldly as he sat up on the table he was lying on and removed the electrodes from his temples. The other table held the unconscious boy who would soon become his wingmate once he succeeded in breaking the barrier down.

Sheila's eyes followed Shang's gaze and her lips curled in a triumphant smile when she saw no change in the hair colour of the Gundam pilot.

"I told you the mind link won't work! We could not bond with each other even though both of us were willing. How can you expect to link your mind with someone who is both an enemy and an unwilling participant in this program?"

"Sheila..." The fact that he could not bond with her despite the lack of barriers showed that the mind link between them was impossible. Even though Shang knew this, he did not see the need to explain it to Sheila. It was easier to handle her if she still harboured the vain hope that they could still bond with each other.

"We should just hand him over to our superiors and let them tear all the useful information out of him." Sheila's eyes lit up with the thought, knowing very well the damage that the process would inflict on Kane's mind. "After all, he more than deserves it for what he did to those who had fought alongside us during the war. He may even be the culprit who killed your..."

"Shut up!" shouted Shang, his voice thick with undisguised anger.

Sheila had never seen Shang display emotion of any kind and his outburst came as a great surprise to her. Stung by his words, Sheila's face turned ugly. She had never met anyone who had dared to show such disrespect to her. At least, no one had ever done so without unpleasant consequences.

"If you still want to be stubborn about it, then by all means go ahead and try again! See if I care if you wind up as a retard or worse!" Shang did not even appear to have heard her. She stormed out of the room and shouted over her shoulder. "Maybe after failing enough times, you'll come to your senses and put an end to this futile exercise!" The door slammed shut.

Shang unclenched his fists to discover blood oozing out of the furrows formed where his nails had dug in too deeply. Perhaps he was insane to try to link his mind with Cheng's murderer. With a person whom he would gladly kill without a moment's thought if he was not so eager to find someone to replace Cheng.

_No... I have to try until I succeed. _He remembered Kane's overwhelming anguish. _He needs me. Just as Cheng needed me in the past._

With a new sense of determination, Shang replaced the electrodes on his temples and dived into Kane's mind.

XXXXXX

A bloodied hand raised to touch his tear-streaked cheek, Sister Helen gasped her parting words "God bless you, my son..."

_I DON'T DESERVE YOUR BLESSING. _The pain of loss. The curse of loneliness.

_I... I LET YOU DOWN. I LET ALL OF YOU DOWN... IF I HAD ARRIVED SOONER... I HAD TRIED MY BEST... BUT IT WAS NOT ENOUGH... IT WAS NEVER ENOUGH... AND THE PRICE WAS DEATH... DEATH OF PEOPLE I CARED FOR... DEATH OF PEOPLE I WOULD WILLINGLY DIE FOR...._

__The relief of tears was denied to him in this part of his mind. And the guilt would stay forever.

_It was not your fault. _The thought came from the intruder in his mind. It was the same intruder who interrupted his thoughts a few moments ago.

_I THOUGHT I HAVE GOTTEN RID OF YOU FOR GOOD. _This time he would not hold back in repelling this nuisance out of his private hell.

_I know how you feel. _

He could sense only understanding and determination from the intruder. Understanding of his torment. Determination to gain his trust.

_HOW CAN YOU CLAIM TO KNOW HOW I FEEL? WHO ARE YOU? _

_I am called Shang._

The name was not familiar, but a nagging thought at some other part of his mind told him that it should be. However, he was not able to recall that he had ever known anyone by that name.

_DO I KNOW YOU?_

There was a pause before the intruder replied. _My life had changed completely because of you. The person I had loved more than life itself is dead because of you. But no, I don't think you know who I am._

He could feel no anger or hatred radiating from the intruder. How can a person say something like that and remain so emotionless at the same time? _IS THIS A JOKE? _

The pause was longer this time. _Do you want to find out whether I am joking or not? _The intruder dropped his own shields and waited, his mind exposed and vulnerable.

_WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? YOU KNOW THAT I CAN DESTROY YOUR MIND EASILY WHEN YOU ARE LIKE THIS._

_You can. But you won't. Not until you see for yourself whether I speak the truth. _

There was truth in what the intruder said. He was intrigued by what the intruder offered to show him. After removing the last of his trepidation, he completed his half of the bridge linking his mind to the intruder's. Images and voices poured into his mind in a torrent and Duo recognized them to be from Shang's past memories.__

XXXXXX

The figure strapped to the hospital bed paid no attention to his surroundings, his eyes vacant and unseeing. Two people who had been looking at the figure quietly through a glass window turned to a doctor standing beside them.

"Has there been any improvements in his situation, doctor?" asked the taller of the two. The speaker was a man in his twenties who sported a thick mane of snowy white hair secured in a ponytail. His eyes glowed with compassion as he said this.

The doctor shook his head and sighed. "He had been like this ever since the day you brought him in. He had slit his wrists twice before this and if we hadn't kept him on an IV drip, he'd have starved himself to death." The doctor removed his spectacles and massaged his fatigued eyes. "Do have any idea what caused this strange behaviour? What was he trying to do before you managed to disarm him and tear the cockpit out of his mobilesuit?"

"He was trying to crash his mobilesuit into a ravine."

The doctor appeared shocked upon hearing this. He wanted to question the man further but at that time, a nurse called for his attention and he had to leave. "Excuse me." The two people were left alone.

The one who had not spoken before this was Shang. He turned to the man and asked in a fearful voice, "Is that what will happen to either of us should one of us die before the other?" It was barely a whisper.

The man stared into the azure eyes which were directed at him. He could sense the feelings of insecurity spilling out of the young boy before him. He used a finger to brush back the lock of hair draped over the latter's left eye. "I'm afraid so, sport." There was no point in lying to make the boy feel better as the lie would be detected before his mouth even formed the words.

Shang reached out and gripped the man's forearm, trying to seek comfort through physical contact. "Promise me you won't die before me, Cheng." The man made no answer but Shang was not expecting any as he knew that it was a promise that could not be kept.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shang was about to open the door to Cheng's room when an exasperated roar passed through the door and filled his ears.

"Grandma, I told you not to visit me here! How did you manage to bypass the securities anyway?" It was Cheng's voice which he was familiar with, satiated with frustration. Shang silently pressed his ears against the door to catch the conversation more clearly. His heart was beating with excitement as Cheng seldom mentioned his family and anything about his wingmate interested him greatly.

"I brought you some tonic. Look how thin you are! I bet the food they serve you here is hardly enough to fatten a rat." The voice hinted of a kind and mild-mannered old woman. There was some clinking of crockery.

"Don't change the subject. I specifically told you..." The sentence died down in mid-sentence and Shang strained his ears, thinking that Cheng had lowered his voice. He nearly fell flat on his face when the door opened suddenly. Cheng patiently waited for him to get up from the floor and explain himself.

"I was just passing by when I heard this unfamiliar voice in your room. I thought it was you but then it couldn't be you as it didn't sound like you at all, so I thought that investigating further would be a wise course of action..." blabbered Shang, even though he knew that he was not fooling his wingmate one bit. Cheng smiled wryly at him and would have asked him to leave if his grandmother did not interrupt at that moment.

"Why, Ah-Cheng! Aren't you even going to introduce me to your girlfriend?"

Shang nearly fell onto the floor again. The expression on Cheng's face at that moment was unreadable. Shang was trying to decide between feeling insulted and amused when Cheng whispered into his ear, "Her eyesight is pretty bad, so don't be offended. Humour her. Most of the time she forgets everything after two days."

"Humour her?" Shang whispered back as Cheng closed the door behind them. "Can't we just clear up this misunderstanding now?"

"You don't know my grandmother. Once she decides on something, nothing you say can change her mind. It's much easier this way, trust me."

"Why are both of you whispering to each other like that? You two don't have to be shy around me. Come, dear, let me have a better look at you..." Before Shang could react, his hands were imprisoned by two delicate, wrinkled hands and he was forced into a seat next to Cheng's grandmother. The silver-haired woman then proceeded to study Shang's face with an intensity that made him feel highly uncomfortable. After a few minutes which seemed like an eternity to Shang, the old woman ended her scrutiny and spoke up. "You look even better than how Cheng described you to be." She nodded with approval as she said this.

Shang cast a questioning look at Cheng but Cheng had hidden his face behind a bowl of tonic. Cheng's grandmother chatted on merrily, oblivious to the puzzled look on Shang's face. "Cheng told me a lot about you on the phone. Here, have a taste of my ginseng root tonic." A bowl of hot, yellow liquid was placed in front of Shang. Feeling that it was impolite to refuse, Shang ventured on a sip. The bitter fluid temporarily paralyzed his tongue and left behind a most nasty aftertaste. It was no wonder that he went into a coughing fit and Cheng quickly grabbed the opportunity to steer him into the washroom.

When the two were alone, Shang merely stared at Cheng. Cheng was hiding something from him and he did not require the mind link to know this. Cheng cleared his throat and tried to explain the situation. "You see, my grandmother has been driving me nuts with photographs of eligible spinsters for the past few months."

Shang remained silent and Cheng took it as a sign to continue.

"So, I told her that I already have a girlfriend here at the military base." Cheng swallowed and went on. "When she relentlessly badgered me into describing this girlfriend to her, and since you're the only person whom I can really describe in much detail, I...."

"Took the liberty to label me as your girlfriend," finished Shang grimly.

Cheng patted Shang's shoulder affectionately. "I knew you would understand." Shang still stared at him through eyes that were deliberately made like slits as a display of his unhappiness. "Come on, do this one favour for your wingmate here," pleaded Cheng. "Just for today, I promise."

Shang decided not to force Cheng to beg on his knees and patted Cheng's shoulder back. Both of them came out of the washroom to tackle the problem at hand which came in the form of a small, old lady who was busy wiping the table with a rag. She smiled warmly at them and they returned her smile in the same manner, albeit a bit awkwardly. It was not long before Shang felt at ease again as Cheng's grandmother was a skilful conversationalist. Cheng, on the other hand, was becoming more and more uncomfortable as the topic of conversation was himself.

"Ah-Cheng has been impulsive ever since he was a kid. I still remember this incident when he was just twelve years old. Yes, I believe he was just twelve years old then..." Shang was totally absorbed by the childhood accounts of his wingmate, ignoring Cheng's ineffectual attempts to break his concentration by switching on the radio and drumming his fingers on the table.

"And he winded up with a split lip and a bruised eye. He tried to hide it, of course, by using..."

"Grandma, it is getting rather late. Don't you have to be back at the old folks' home by seven?" asked Cheng hopefully. His embarrassment was beginning to redden his cheeks.

"Don't rush me. Now where was I?... Oh yes." Cheng's grandmother once again held Shang's hands in hers, her sky-blue eyes filling up Shang's entire vision. "I want to ask a favour of you." Shang could only nod. "Take care of Ah-Cheng when I'm not around, will you? He has this knack of getting into trouble that he can easily avoid. I believe you are the only person whom he will listen to."

"Me?" Shang blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Yes, you. He told me that you are..."

"Grandma!" Cheng's feathers were really ruffled at this time. "I've called the taxi half an hour ago and it should be waiting downstairs by now."

"Are you so eager to get rid of me?" Cheng opened his mouth to protest but the old lady silenced him with a sharp gesture. "Don't worry, I'm going. Maybe it is better for you to tell her yourself." As she passed by Cheng, she whispered to him, "I know you just want to be alone with her." She smiled naughtily. "Please keep in mind that bedding is for married couples only."

"Grandma!!" The red colour had spread to his ears. With a chuckle, she was off.

After the room regained its usual tranquility, Shang spoke up. "What did she say to you?"

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" Shang could not read Cheng's mind as he had closed it off. Finding his wingmate's behaviour a bit peculiar, Shang pursued further.

"And what does she want you to tell me yourself?"

"That's nothing too."

There was a pause before Shang replied. "It's fine with me if you don't want to talk about it... Ah-Cheng."

"Don't call me that! It sounds childish."

"Whatever you say, Ah-Cheng."

"I said..."

"Ah-Cheng. Ah-Cheng. Ah-Cheng. Ah-Cheng. Ah-"

"Oh, all right! I'll talk!" Cheng was tempted to wipe off the smug grin on Shang's face. Reluctantly, Cheng mumbled, "I told her that my 'girlfriend' is the most important person in my life."

"That's all?" asked Shang, surprised that Cheng was worked up over such a small confession.

"That's all." The red colour had died down to a pale pink.

"So why are you so worried? That's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I was afraid that you will take it wrongly." As soon as Cheng uttered the words, he looked as if he wanted to shove his foot into his mouth.

"Wrongly? How?"

"That's enough questions for one day. Off you go, sport." Cheng pointed to the door which was wide open.

Miffed by Cheng's uptightness, Shang made as if to go but halted in his tracks as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "One more thing, I don't like to be referred to as 'sport'."

"What's wrong with 'sport'?"

"What's wrong with 'Ah-Cheng'?"

"Okay, okay. Now will you please go back to your room?"

"Let me hear you say my name." Shang was beginning to enjoy tormenting his wingmate.

Cheng took a deep breath and forced the name out. "Ssshh...aaa..nn..g."

Shang looked offended. "Can you not say it as if you're having a case of diarrhoea?"

"Look, it takes some getting used to, okay?"

"I never realize that calling a person by his name is so hard to get used to."

"Well, to me, calling a person by his name is... intimate."

"Intimate?" Shang let out a mocking laugh. "You don't know what the word means!"

"Don't I?" In a heart beat, Cheng stood before him, his head bent down to level with Shang's. Shang just stopped short of drawing back in fright. Maybe it was not wise of him to tease Cheng that way. He mentally reached out to find out whether Cheng was really mad at him but was confronted by a closed off mind. Before he knew what was happening, Cheng had placed a chaste kiss on his forehead. It was all so unexpected that Shang remained motionless.

"That should teach you a lesson. I..." Shang was still staring at him with a confused look on his face. The pale pink colour of Cheng's face deepened into rose red. "That was a brotherly kiss! A brotherly kiss, you hear me! Don't misunderstand!"

"What can I misunderstand it to be?" asked a puzzled Shang, his hand raised to touch the spot where Cheng's lips had made contact.

"You would think that I..." Cheng realized that it was foolish to explain any further and quickly kept his mouth shut.

"Yes?"

It was then that Cheng made a grab for the broom and Shang decided that a quick retreat was in order.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I feel terrible..." muttered Shang feebly. Even speaking became difficult for him with all the phlegm clogging his throat.

"Don't worry. The doctor said that you have slight pneumonia, on top of everything else, but with plenty of rest and medication, you will be on your feet in two weeks."

"Two weeks? I don't want to be stuck on a bed for two weeks! I..." Shang gagged on his phlegm and snatched the tissue offered by Cheng. Cheng pounded his back to help him clear his blocked windpipe.

"And don't talk too much. You need your rest." Shang was about to argue on but Cheng cut him short with a gentle shove onto the bed. "Don't make me tie you to the bed." Shang could tell that Cheng was not joking and therefore maintained a dignified silence. He succumbed to the soothing coolness of the icebag which Cheng had placed on his forehead. Just as he was about to drift off, the sirens in the hospital sounded.

'Everyone please remain calm and make your way slowly to the shelter located at the fourth basement level. I repeat, everyone please...' blared the intercom.

"What is it?! An attack?" Shang was up and alert, his fever and illness forgotten. Cheng had opened a window and was looking at something in a distance.

"I see smoke. It is coming from the military base." Cheng's expression was grim. The expression immediately changed to shock when a thought struck him. "Gods, no... Shang!"

Shang turned to his wingmate, his eyes mirroring worry as his wingmate's fear rushed into him. "Yes?"

"Is today Saturday?" The question seemed ridiculous under such circumstances.

"Uh... yes. Cheng, what's wrong?" Cheng had spun on his heels and was making his way to the door. "Where are you going?"

"To the base. I should be out there fighting along with the rest of them."

"Are you crazy?! We should go to the shelters right now!" It was fear for Cheng's life that caused this shout.

"You don't understand... I have to go."

"What don't I understand?" As Cheng was reluctant to tell him, Shang searched for the information with his mind, catching Cheng completely off guard. His face took up Cheng's shocked expression. "Your grandmother visits you every Saturday evening? Cheng, I..."

"You go to the shelters. I have to.... gods... she is the only one left of my family. I have to be there!"

"I'll go with you." Shang was removing his hospital gown and putting on his uniform with as much speed as he could muster. The act of buttoning up his shirt was enough to make him breathless.

"You're not in the condition to do anything! Stay here!" Cheng's command fell on deaf ears.

"You can't fight alone in that battle and you know it." Shang took a step forward and had to lean on the wall for a while to regain the strength in his legs. The world began to spin around him and he shook his head to clear it.

"Shang, you can't even remain conscious long enough to make it to the base. Just stay..." The sound of broken glass silenced Cheng and he nearly cried out at the sight of Shang's bloodied hand. Shang had smashed his fist into the window and welcomed the pain of having shards of glass embedded in his flesh. The pain pulled him closer to consciousness. "What are you doing?!"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm proving you wrong. Now, let's go. We don't have time to waste." Cheng silently watched him, making no move to exit the room. "What are you waiting for?" By this time, Shang had reached Cheng and was leaning against him for support.

Cheng smiled at Shang- a smile filled with volumes of unspoken words. "Have I ever told you how lucky I am to have you as my wingmate?"

"Huh?"

Cheng stopped smiling and looked at Shang with sombre eyes. "I will allow you to go only on one condition."

"And what is that?" Why was Cheng being so talkative at a time like this?

"Promise me you will continue living even after I die."

"Don't say words of ill omen like that!"

"Promise me. Or off to the shelters you go."

"Okay, I promise." Cheng smiled again upon hear his reply. The fist came swiftly and buried itself in Shang's stomach. Shang could only gasp out Cheng's name one last time before oblivion took him.

By the time he woke up, Cheng was dead.

XXXXXX

Shang woke up in the real world. His hands went up to his face, in search of tears that were not there. How many times had he relived that nightmare? How many times had he cried his tear ducts dry, knowing that Cheng would no longer be there to console him? How many times had he tried to kill himself but his last promise to Cheng had stopped him? That was the old Shang, the Shang who had died along with his wingmate.

_And who am I now? _Just as Shang was pondering over this, he caught sight of a glistening teardrop. The teardrop leaked from Kane's closed left eye. Fascinated by the sight, Shang slowly approached the table on which Kane lay. There was something else too- part of Kane's fringe had turned paler in colour, with hints of white at the tips. He bent down to speak softly into Kane's ear, "Are you crying for me, my wingmate?" Kane made no reply.

The teardrop tasted salty.

XXXXXX 

Shang did not notice that the door of the room was ajar. Sheila was sitting on the floor beside the door, her face haggard after witnessing the whole incident. She had seen the paleness of Kane's hair and knew it to be a sign of the mind link being established. Why did this Kane have to appear before them now?! Without him, Shang would have been hers! Without him...!

Sheila's mouth slowly formed a cruel smile. Nothing stands between her and her wingmate. Nothing.

The Bud Part 3 

The dance floor beneath them was made up of polished marble and there was soft music playing in the background. The other details eluded him, for in his arms was the girl of his dreams, her supple body held closely to his. His legs moved on their own accord in step with the music, even though he had never learnt how to dance in his entire life. Then there was the question of how he winded up on a dance floor in the first place. But all these were merely details which he did not care to think about at the moment. The only girl he cared about was with him, and that was all that mattered.

He could not stop his fingers from caressing her smooth back which was coated by only thin fabric. How he wished that time could stand still so that he could feel her warmth and breathe in her scent like this forever. He churned his brain to come up with words to express his feelings for her. The task proved more difficult than any mission he had ever undertaken.

_Tell her how you feel right now, _his mind suggested.

"Happy."

"Huh?"

The monosyllabic reply was not quite what he expected from her. He was hoping that she would lend him a hand in continuing the conversation. After thinking for a while, Heero realized his mistake of not making his meaning plainer. The word 'happy' was hardly sufficient to convey what he wanted to say to her. "I mean, I feel happy..." She made no reply to this and he began to wonder whether he should add more words to his sentence. "...now." The pause between his words was too long and Heero panicked at how idiotic he sounded. "No, what I meant was..."

"What's the matter with you, Heero? Cat got your tongue?"

Heero froze in mid-step. How did Katherine know his real name? And when had she acquired that disturbingly familiar masculine voice? His heart filled with dread, Heero slowly tilted his head to get a closer look of the person he was dancing with. The sight of a long-braided Duo Maxwell returning his gaze with those violet pupils of his caused something akin to a scream to well up in his throat. Due to the fact that he had never screamed before in his life, what issued forth from his lips was part guttural roar of outrage, part battle warcry.

Heero came to in a small, dark room, drenched in his own sweat. It took him a few moments to identify his surroundings and calm himself down. While he was wondering whether he had 'screamed' aloud, his doubts were cleared by a fierce banging on his door and an irritable neighbour's yell of "Pipe it down, will ya?! People are trying to sleep here!"

Another voice interjected urgently before the first voice could continue its verbal onslaught. "Kyle, are you suicidal or something? That's Hojo Tsukasa's door you're banging on!"

There was a collective intake of breath, followed by a pin-drop silence.

Times like this made Heero grateful for the type of reputation he had established in school. As he was sure that any sleep-deprived hostelites outside his door would have dispersed by then, he concentrated on recovering from his pleasant-dream-turned-frightful-nightmare. Dissatisfied with ridiculing him in real life, the American pilot had to torment him further by haunting his dreams. The time would come when he would pay back in kind every single indignity and misery he had suffered on Duo's account. He began contemplating various ways of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Duo, ignoring the whisper from the rational part of his mind which pointed out that he was being unreasonable.

_But first, I have to find that rotten piece of..._ Finding his thoughts too emotional and violent, Heero tried to make it milder. His mind must remain calm and clear if he was to accomplish anything. _Nothing can be done before I find him. _His lips formed a thin line. _And find him I will._

Heero let mindless rage boil up inside him as he made that grim vow, not realizing that he was only using the stronger emotion to drown out the mysterious feeling of disappointment dwelling in his heart.

XXXXXX

"Leela."

The brunette did not stop her conversation with the redhead standing next to her. Could he have remembered her name wrongly?

"Laya."

The brunette was still engrossed in her chatting. Heero gave up the name-guessing attempt.

"The brunette and the redhead under that tree!"

The two girls stopped talking and turned to face him. Their eyes widened in recognition upon seeing him. The brunette spoke first.

"Good morning, Hojo. Er...can I help you?"

"Yes, you can." He took a deep breath as the two girls trained questioning eyes on him. "I want to know what happened the night you last saw Katherine."

"Hojo, you have to learn to let go," said the redhead, looking at him as if he was a lost, hurt puppy. "Although it was wrong of her to... erm..." The redhead faltered when she saw his expression becoming increasingly flinty. The brunette quickly intervened to divert Heero's wilting glare from her friend.

"What exactly do you want to know?" asked the brunette, positioning herself between him and the redhead.

"I want to know what she said and how she said what she said. " Heero's solemn monotone made it sound more like a command than a request.

"There's nothing much I can say. She said she had to go and the three of us shed some tears."

Heero's eyebrows furrowed. Duo was not the type who cried easily. Sentimental at times, yes, but never mawkish. "What did she say exactly?"

"I really want to help you with this, but to tell you the truth, I can't remember," said the brunette apologetically. "My memory about that night is all fuzzy... the more I try to think about it, the more vague my recollections become."

How can a person forget so much about an incident no longer than two days ago? Heero pointed, quite rudely, at the redhead. "How about you?"

"I can't remember too..." stammered the redhead, all the while shaking her head vigorously.

A case of poor memory? Or something more sinister? Instincts told him that the second possibility was more probable, but Heero was not able to link the apparent memory loopholes of the two girls with Duo's disappearance. His concentration was broken when the brunette spoke up.

"There is one thing strange about... no, I don't think it is important..."

"What is it?"

"Nah, it's just a trivial matter. Not worth mentioning..."

"Let me be the judge of that," interrupted Heero.

"Okay. In the morning following the night of Katherine's departure, I woke up with my ear-rings on my ear lobes."

Heero deliberately made himself sound patient in order to hide his impatience. "And what is the significance of that?"

The brunette explained further. "I have this habit of removing my ear-rings before I go to sleep. I got this pair of ear-rings when I was six years old and I have never worn them to sleep. Not even once."

"What are you trying to say here?"

The brunette chewed her lower lip. "What I'm trying to say is... I feel that a lot more things happened that night, important things, but I can't recall any of them. It is as if my memory has been... I know this sounds weird... erased. Selectively."

Heero said nothing as he thought this over. Brainwashing was a feat within the capabilities of the Oz organization. Could Duo have fallen victim to...?

"Thank you for the information." Heero bowed and left. He needed time to sort out what he had just found out.

"Hojo?" It was the brunette's voice. Heero stopped walking and turned to look at her.

The brunette called out, "My name is Laila. Please don't forget again."

Heero nodded. "Thank you, Laila."

When Heero was out of sight, Laila exhaled loudly and grabbed Doyce's shoulder. "You, my friend, are going to join me in a drink of shandy tonight."

A look of surprise fleeted across Doyce's face. "Shandy? Laila, you only drink shandy when you are depressed."

"And don't I have a reason to feel depressed? I'm now heartbroken, you silly girl," chided Laila, not unkindly.

"Heartbroken? Why?" asked a genuinely puzzled Doyce. Laila remained quiet, eyes focussed on somewhere far away. Doyce knew it to be a sign of Laila being deep in thought. "A penny for your thoughts," offered Doyce.

"I was thinking about what I would do if Katherine is not my friend," answered Laila in a faint murmur.

Doyce appeared shocked. "Why would you want to think of something like that? Are you ashamed of having her as a friend?"

"Of course not! Now will you please stop spouting nonsense and let me daydream in peace?"

The silence lasted for two minutes before it was disrupted again by Doyce. "Laila?"

"What?" asked Laila, a bit huffily.

"The drink's on me tonight."

Laila clapped Doyce's back in reply and both of them made their way back to their classroom.

XXXXXX

Sheila slid the disk into the computer and began typing in instructions. Shang should not be back in less than thirty minutes and that gave her plenty of time to complete her task. Once she directed the macrophage program to target Kane's mind, there wouldn't be much of a mind left for Shang to mind-link with. Although it was more tedious than simply slitting Kane's throat, it roughly served the same purpose. Shang must not be allowed to mind-link with Kane, and she was willing to do anything to prevent it.

The computer had been set to activate the macrophage program once Kane's barriers are down. Sheila gave the boy lying on the table a cold glare before returning her attention to the task at hand. _It is your fault if your mind gets shredded to pieces. If you aren't so damned compatible with Shang's mind, none of this will have to happen. _Yes, the Gundam pilot deserved no pity at all.

She breathed a sigh of relief when the task was completed. Now all there was left was for Shang to neutralize Kane's barriers; which shouldn't be a problem, considering that Shang had succeeded in establishing a weak link after only his second attempt.

"Sheila, what are you doing ?"

Sheila curbed the urge to jump out of the chair she was sitting on. Shang was back earlier than she expected. She wiped off all traces of guilt on her face before answering him.

"I'm just..er.. checking to make sure that the computer is functioning properly."

"And is it functioning properly?" asked Shang.

_Please don't let him suspect anything. Please don't let him suspect anything_. _Please... _Sheila prayed fervently.

"Sheila, you didn't answer my question."

"What? Oh, you mean the computer? Yes, of course. It works perfectly fine, no problem at all," replied Sheila in a rush.

Shang could see that Sheila was hiding something from him but was not interested in finding out what it was. The girl can keep all the secrets she wants to keep. What mattered now was the completion of his mind link with Kane. It occurred to him that he still didn't know Kane's true name yet. _Maybe I'll ask him later on. _

"Prepare the mind link program now," instructed Shang.

"Roger." Sheila fought to keep a smile from forming on her face.

XXXXXX

_Where is that baka?! _It was not the first time that Heero had asked himself that question. Most likely Duo had been taken by the enemy, but this information did not help him in finding out Duo's present location. _He could have been hidden somewhere near the school. Or he could have been transported to a distant place during the night. Or he could have been... _Heero did not like the thought... _killed and buried. _

A strange fury burned inside him when he thought of the possibility of anything bad happening to Duo. Heero was not sure whether it was because he was worried about Duo's safety or because he wanted Duo all to himself.... to be mashed into paste and smeared all over the landscape.

Heero began thinking back to the time when he last saw Duo dressed up as Katherine. There was his embarrassing confession and Katherine's.. no, Duo's... merciless rejection. How dare the pilot throw the ring, the ring he had spent hours making, onto the floor and crush it underfoot.

_The ring! _A circlet of silver holding a stone of blue... and also a diminutive tracking device. The ring was more than a token; it was a means for him to seek out Katherine after he was no longer needed as a Gundam pilot. So that they could be reunited to live a normal, peaceful life together. That was his dream. A dream shattered by... Heero slapped himself to pull back his wandering thoughts.

_Could he still be holding onto that ring? _Heero was aware that he did not retrieve the ring from the forest floor after Duo had stamped on it. The ring could help him pinpoint Duo's exact location, thus saving him a lot of trouble. But it would only work if Duo was wearing that ring when he was taken. The chances of that happening was slim, as he had seen how Duo had treated it like worthless junk in front of him. A slim chance, but a chance nonetheless.

Heero quickly took out the radar which he had carefully concealed in his locked drawer. After switching it on, Heero held his breath as he waited for the device to work. _Come on..._ A faint flashing dot appeared on the grid-covered screen. Taking his bearings, Heero could tell that the ring was not in the forest. It was very near, in the school compound. The faintness of the flashing dot could only mean that the ring was somewhere underground instead of on the surface.

_Underground..._ Heero rummaged in his drawer for the photographs he had taken of the blueprints of the school. He had been suspicious of the unusually large number of the ventilation ducts in the school. It seemed that his suspicions were not groundless. If there was any secret Oz base under the school, the ventilation ducts should lead him straight to it.

Heero spent the next hour methodically planning his next move. He would set off once it became dark.

The Bud Part 4 

Duo felt the brush of another mind outside his barriers. Recognizing it to be Shang's, he wordlessly lowered his defenses to allow contact between their minds. He had expected another confrontation with Shang.

_YOU'RE BACK. _Duo greeted him without any warmth.

_I am surprised that you let me in so easily._

_I AM CURIOUS._

_Curious?_

_CURIOUS ABOUT YOUR INTENTIONS. YOU SHOWED ME THAT I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR CHENG'S DEATH. WHAT DO YOU WANT? REVENGE?_

_Do you think revenge is what I want? _Shang asked him back.

_I DON'T THINK SO. _As if receiving confirmation from Shang's mind, Duo answered more confidently._ NO. IF THAT WAS WHAT YOU WANTED ALL ALONG, I WOULDN'T BE ALIVE RIGHT NOW._

_You are right. I don't want revenge._

_DAMN IT. THEN, TELL ME WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT FROM ME! I HAVE ENOUGH OF THIS GUESSING GAME! _

Shang was unfazed by Duo's outburst. _I want to know all about you. What makes you laugh. What makes you cry. Everything._

Nonplussed by Shang's answer, a moment of silence passed before Duo was able to form a coherent thought in reply.

_WHY?_

_Because I want to know. Believe me, that is all there is to it._

_I DON'T TRUST YOU._ Surprise was quickly replaced by suspicion.

_I don't blame you. There is absolutely no reason for you to trust me. But I suppose there is no harm in telling me your name. _

_MY NAME... _The mention of his name triggered the emergence of many painful memories. Duo began to withdraw inwardly as feelings of guilt and remorse formed a cocoon around him.

_Don't go! _Shang frantically tried to maintain his contact with Duo's mind. _I know there is no reason for you to trust me, but at least tell me what is bothering you. Why is your name causing you so much pain? _

_GO AWAY. _

_If you keep everything bottled up inside, you're only making it worse._

_GO...._

_Listen to me! I wasn't bluffing when I said that I understood how you felt. Cheng... Cheng was just like you when I first touched his mind. He blamed himself for the death of his parents and siblings, even though he knew that there was nothing he could do to prevent it_. __

Duo had stopped his withdrawal and was listening with interest.

_Whose death are you blaming yourself for? _

Duo could sense no ulterior motive behind the other boy's offer to share his pain. The exhaustion from carrying the heavy burden suffocating his soul alone for so long came crashing down on him. Perhaps it was time for him to open up and unload his sorrows to the soothing hands of another. He felt tired, very tired. _MY NAME IS DUO MAXWELL._

_Duo Maxwell... _repeated Shang, as if savouring the sound of his name.

_'DUO' TO REMIND ME OF SOLO'S DEATH. 'MAXWELL' TO REMIND ME OF THE MAXWELL CHURCH MASSACRE. _There was no denying that he felt relief upon making the confession.

_And why do you think that you are responsible for their deaths?_

_....I AM PREPARED TO TELL IF YOU ARE PREPARED TO LISTEN. _

_I am listening_.

XXXXXX

It was no surprise to Heero that the Oz base was small and had only one level, a fact which enabled him to accomplish his task with less difficulty. The reason for its location underneath a school was most probably to use civilian lives to shield itself from aerial attacks. However, the necessity of having to keep it secret greatly restricted its operations and as a result, its size.

He did not bother to acquire a uniform from one of the soldiers patrolling the corridors. The difficulty of finding a size that matches him and hiding the body of the stripped guard made it an unworthy exercise.

He attached an explosive device to a metallic wall located a safe distance from the room in which Duo was supposedly held. The explosion would create the diversion he needed to get Duo out of this place. He dismissed the idea of using more bombs as this would invite the risk of bringing down the ceiling and maybe even the school along with it. Clamping the detonator between his teeth, he silently climbed back into the ventilation duct he had jumped out from. He hoped that the metal grating on the floor would not be noticed before he set the bomb off. Slowly, he began to crawl to the place indicated by the flashing spot on his radar.

XXXXXX

_I NAMED MYSELF DUO AS A SIGN THAT NEITHER OF US WOULD BE ALONE AGAIN. I WAS WRONG._

Shang saw the opportunity to introduce the mind link to Maxwell and grabbed it. _Have you ever thought of finding someone to replace Solo? _

_REPLACE SOLO? _Apparently, the thought had never occured to Maxwell.

_Yes. Don't you miss that special friendship between the two of you? Don't you ever wish that there is someone who can take his place in your heart?_

_I NEVER SEEK THE SHADOWS OF THE DEAD AMONG THE LIVING. _

Maxwell's reply was completely unexpected. _Never?_

_NEVER. _There was a flicker of amusement. _UNLIKE YOU._

Shang instinctively strengthened his shields to limit the exposure of his thoughts. _Why do you say that?_

_DO YOU THINK THAT I DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS CONVERSATION IS HEADING? YOU WANT TO FIND SOMEONE TO REPLACE CHENG, AND YOU HAVE FOUND ME. _

It seemed that he had underestimated Maxwell's awareness. _You are right again._ No matter, it made his task much easier. _Then I won't try to play psychological games with you anymore. What is your answer?_

_IT IS NOW YOUR TURN TO GUESS WHAT IT IS._

The boy had humour, Shang had to admit that. _I wish that the answer is a 'yes'._

_AND YOU WISHED WRONGLY._

_I know._ Shang dropped all pretence of being a mere sympathetic listener. _I really hope you will reconsider._ His next thought was more ominous. _That way, you can still retain most of your memories._

There was a wave of panic which Maxwell ineffectively attempted to hide. _WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO?_

_Don't worry, I won't erase too much of your memories._ He had taken advantage of Maxwell's lowered defences all this while to bring his next step into operation. _Only those which created your barriers._

_YOU KEEP YOUR PAWS AWAY FROM MY MIND!_ Maxwell desperately tried to fortify his core then, only to meet up with failure. Shang's mental projections into the cracks in his barriers were planted in too firmly to be displaced.

_Will you reconsider?_ Shang offered him a second chance.

Maxwell's reply was accompanied by soft, but defiant, laughter. _NEVER._

_Then brace yourself._ Shang initiated the erosion of Maxwell's barriers, his mind actively seeking out Maxwell's childhood memories and obliterating them at the same time. The barrier slowly weakened under his relentless attack and its cracks became more pronounced with each passing second. There was a ear-splitting crack when the the entire structure collapsed. Shang paused to recover his strength. Maxwell's core shimmered in front of him, as bare as a newborn baby.

Before Shang could reach out, a dark entity of razor-sharp claws and teeth rushed ahead of him with inhuman speed. Shang barely had time to realize what was happening before screams of excruciating pain assaulted his senses. The macrophage tore mercilessly at Maxwell's core and engulfed what was ripped off hungrily like a mindless animal. Shang wasted no time watching the gruesome scene any longer and sped back to his body, knowing that he could not stop the macrophage internally.

The first thing he did upon returning to the physical world was to pull the electrodes off Maxwell's head. The Gundam pilot's face was contorted with pain and Shang feared that the damage done was beyond repair. _But how did the macrophage enter Maxwell's mind?_ He was so close to establishing that mind link with him. _Who would...?_ Shang swung around to direct his piercing eyes on Sheila. "It was you, wasn't it?"

"Sometimes, I really don't know what you're trying to say," said Sheila, her eyes wide with feigned innocence. "What did I do now?"

"You should have heeded my warning." There was no external indication of the white-hot fury which consumed him.

"Shang, I told you I don't know..." Sheila cut off in mid-sentence when she saw the pistol being levelled at her. Shang had whipped it out from his holster so fast that she failed to catch the action with her naked eye. "Shang, what... what are you trying to do with that thing?"

"Guess," said Shang, and pulled the trigger. There was an explosion which rocked the ground.

XXXXXX

The crack of gunfire nearly stopped Heero's heart. Although his original plan was to wait in hiding after the detonation of the bomb to allow time for a few if not all the Oz personnel in the room to come out and investigate the explosion, he found himself already slamming his body against the door. All rational thoughts had deserted him then. He just knew that if that gunshot was aimed at Duo, everyone else in the room would die.

He was completely unprepared for the sight which welcomed him. A girl with a bleeding knee was writhing with agony on the floor and the person who had shot her was a boy who was around his age. The boy rounded on him, the pistol changing its target.

In reflex, Heero released a bullet which tore through the hand holding the pistol. Once the pistol dropped onto the floor, a second shot was released to hit it into a corner. Only then did Heero take a closer look at his attacker. It shocked him to find that he could identify the boy. _Shang?!_

At the same time, Shang seemed to have also recognized him, his eyes widening in surprise. "You!"

There were too many questions and too little time to look for answers. It wouldn't be long before soldiers who were drawn by the gunfire arrive at the scene. Heero quickly scanned the room for Duo and found him lying on a table, unconscious. The American pilot showed no signs of physical abuse and this discovery greatly reduced his blood-lust. He was trying to decide his next step when Shang spoke again.

"Are you here for Maxwell?"

_Duo revealed his name to Shang?_ Heero was becoming more confused. "So what if I am?"

"I can help." Ignoring the look of disbelief on Heero's face, Shang fearlessly went to retrieve his gun.

"Don't move!" Heero had to defy his survival instincts to stop himself from shooting Shang. The boy was crazy!

Shang just looked at him calmly as he held the pistol in his good hand. "I have no doubts that you can escape unscathed from this place alone. But can you bring Maxwell along with you and still keep him unharmed?" Heero said nothing to this but his silence had answered Shang's question. "I will cover your back. Let's go."

_Trust no one but yourself._ His mentor's words rang alarm bells in his head. "Why would you want to help us?" asked Heero suspiciously.

Shang looked tenderly at Duo and stroked the boy's cheek with his knuckles. The harmless action nearly caused Heero to shoot him in the forehead. Shang, however, was unaware of his close brush with death. "Don't be mistaken. I am doing this for Maxwell, not you. His life will be in danger if he continues to remain here."

Even though Heero knew that Shang could not be trusted, he had no choice but to make an exception this time. He could not bear the thought of Duo being in the hands of Shang... no, the Oz enemies... a second longer than necessary. He would rescue Duo from this place tonight, or die trying.

"Do you want me to carry Maxwell instead?" asked Shang. "Then you can cover my back."

Heero gave him the most murderous look he was capable of. "I will carry him myself," said Heero coldly, his body automatically interposing itself between Shang and Duo. He threw the unconscious pilot over his shoulder, his left arm crossing Duo's knees. No sooner had he done that before two soldiers appeared at the doorway, machine guns raised in preparation to fire.

Before Heero could use his gun, a shot rang out beside him. One of the soldiers collapsed with a bullet hole in his skull. The other soldier only managed to gasp out "Lieutenant!" before he joined his partner in eternal sleep. Smoke flowed sluggishly from the barrel of Shang's pistol. Heero stared at the boy who murdered men under his command unflinchingly. He felt a drop of cold sweat roll down his back.

"Are you going to stand there and stare at me forever?" Shang was becoming impatient. "More soldiers are going to arrive any minute! I say we leave this place now!"

Heero required no further prompting. He dashed out of the room, with Shang following closely behind him.

XXXXXX

One of Sheila's knee-caps was shattered. In her agony, she could only watch Shang helplessly from the floor as he carried out his treacherous acts. _Why did he go to such extents to rescue that Gundam pilot? She was worth ten of him! Why was Shang so blind?! Was he not aware of the sacrifices she had made for him?! Was he not aware of..._ Sheila swallowed the lump in her throat... _her love?_

She angrily wiped away the tears of frustration and pain which had welled up in her eyes. Tears are for weaklings and she was no weakling. One day, she would have her revenge. And her love requited.

XXXXXX

Once they got off from the elevator, Shang led the way out of the high security school building and to the parking lot where a motorcycle waited. He reached into his pocket for the keys and threw them at Maxwell's comrade. The keys were deftly caught.

"That motorcycle can transport only two people. You bring Maxwell to safety while I stay behind to make sure no one follows you."

Hojo Tsukasa appeared as if he wanted to say something but he only nodded in the end. After settling himself and Maxwelll down in the seat, he switched on the ignition and the engine blared into life.

Shang silently followed the speeding motorcycle with his eyes until it disappeared from his sight. _Wait for me, Maxwell. I will come for you one day. _

**The Bud Part 5**

All the Gundam pilots except Duo were gathered around a table, deep in discussion. A discussion which began shortly after Heero arrived at their hideout one morning with an unconscious Duo in his arms. Quatre was frantic with worry, Trowa raised an eyebrow and Wufei was annoyed by the way his routine morning meditation was interrupted. All three of them demanded an explanation – an explanation which Heero was willing to give only after Duo rested soundly on a bed.

"What happened to Duo?" demanded Quatre.

"I have no idea," Heero replied truthfully. "I found him at the underground Oz base located below the school in which both of us were assigned to infiltrate."

"Both of you?" It was Trowa's turn to speak. "Then you should know how he ended up there."

"He infiltrated the school before me. He..." Trowa noticed that Heero's hands had clenched into fists. "...I didn't know that he was in the school until my commanding officer told me. By then, Duo had already been taken captive."

"Nonsense!" interrupted Wufei bluntly. "Don't tell me that you were totally unaware of his presence in that school before you were informed."

Heero squashed down the irrational urge to use his tightly-clenched fists on the Chinese boy. "I was unaware that Duo had dressed himself up as..." Heero paused as a thought suddenly occurred to him. The embarrassing fact of Duo cross-dressing could be used as his bargaining chip with Duo to make sure that the American pilot would not reveal his embarrassing pursuit of 'Katherine' to the others. Duo would never let go of this chance to make fun of him.

"You were saying?" asked Quatre, who had started waving a palm in Heero's face.

Heero rudely knocked away Quatre's hand, ignorant of the sullen scowl which appeared suddenly on Trowa's face. "I was not able to see through his disguise."

"That must have been quite a disguise, to be able to fool even you," said Trowa, his face resuming its usual expressionless look.

"It does not matter how effective his disguise was or why I was not able to identify him," said Heero grumpily. "I don't even see the point of continuing this discussion if we don't stick to what is important."

"Okay, then tell us what is important," said Wufei impatiently.

"I was about to do that before all of you started interrupting." Trowa, Quatre and Wufei opened their mouths to retort but thought the better of it and kept quiet. "Thank you. As I was saying..." Heero told them all about his encounter with Shang and how the mysterious boy had helped him and Duo to escape. Half an hour passed before Heero finished telling his tale.

"Why would this... Shang... help the two of you if he is a lieutenant in the Oz army?" Trowa voiced the question which was in all their minds.

"We'll just be wasting our time speculating about this. We can get the answer from Duo once he wakes up." Wufei stood up and left the table. "Call me when that happens."

"But..."

"He's right, Quatre. There is no point in discussing further..." Trowa was cut off by a blood-curdling scream which caused the fine hairs at the back of his neck to stand on their ends. Even the long bangs covering his face were threatening to defy gravity. It came from Duo's room.

Without exchanging glances, the four boys ran towards the source of that scream with Heero in the lead. They burst into the room to find Duo thrashing about on his bed, his eyes still tightly shut. His hands were frenziedly clawing the air around him, as if fighting off some unseen monster.

The violence of his movements kept all of them at bay until Heero could stand it no longer and made a grab for one of his flailing arms. Although Heero managed to pin Duo's right arm down on the bed, the other arm was free to inflict damage. Heero was brutally scratched in the face, neck and arm before he lost his temper and slapped Duo's face. "Wake up, you fool!"

Awakened by Heero's slap, Duo's eyelids flew open. Heero saw only fear and shock in Duo's eyes before those same eyes rolled upwards in a dead faint. Duo stopped struggling and became as limp as a rag doll under him.

"Oh great," drawled Wufei. "Was it really necessary to scare him to death in your attempt to wake him up?"

"And I suppose YOU can do it better than me?" snapped Heero, his expression extremely unfriendly.

"The answer to that is obvio..."

"Will both of you please stop arguing this instant!" pleaded Quatre. "Something had obviously happened to Duo when he was held captive to cause him to behave like this."

"But he showed no signs of physical torture," noted Heero.

"Did you check thoroughly?" asked Quatre. The blonde pilot gently pushed Heero off the bed to examine Duo's condition.

"Thoroughly?" repeated Heero, and felt heat rising to his cheeks. _Wait a minute...Why should I feel embarrassment here?_ "I based my assumption on the absence of wounds on his face and arms."

"That's definitely not thorough enough," said Quatre, and began to remove Duo's shirt.

"Are you planning to undress him right now?!" exclaimed Heero, scandalized. "In front of all of us?!"

"Is there anything wrong with that?" asked Quatre innocently.

Heero could not explain his reluctance to have anyone else privy to the sight of a shirtless Duo. He also could not explain his desire to perform the stripping job himself. _But it would appear very strange to the others if I volunteer to do the check-up on Duo._ The realization of what he was thinking hit him and Heero nearly screamed 'I'm no pervert!' aloud.

Trowa, who had been watching Heero closely, suggested, "I think it is better for us to leave this room and let Quatre do the checking alone. Duo deserves at least that amount of privacy."

"I couldn't agree more," said Wufei, and left the room as if he was eager to be off.

Trowa had to drag Heero out of the room. After closing the door behind them, Trowa said only two words to Heero 'Balcony. Talk.' before walking away. Heero followed the silent boy and stood beside him at the balcony overlooking the crystal-clear lake outside. Both of them placed their crossed arms on the metal railing and neither spoke for some time. The silence was finally broken by Trowa.

"Spill it." Trowa was never a person to waste words.

"Spill what?" asked Heero, acting dumb.

"You are hiding something from us. The information you're holding back maybe crucial in finding out what happened to Duo."

"I'm not holding back anything." Feeling that Trowa was unconvinced by his lie, he relented and said, "Fine, I admit that I am hiding something but that something is not important."

Trowa shook his head and said softly, "You are not being honest with yourself, Heero."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" asked Heero crossly.

"You know what I mean." Trowa left Heero alone to his thoughts. Heero continued to gaze at the lake outside, making no move to follow the other boy this time.

XXXXXX

It was dark. The air was bad, like the stink of rotten flesh. His head felt awful and It was after him. Duo moaned silently as he struggled away from the dark and back toward the light. It was closing in on him and It wanted to hurt him really bad. It chittered at him, like evil, scraping claws on harsh metal. Duo whimpered in fear, searching blindly for something, someone. There! Far away, far, far away like a beacon. A blip of light. The light beckoned him and he crawled towards it. It was afraid of the light. It would not get him if he could just get to the light. The beacon flared and light streamed steadily towards him. The light bathed him with a warmth that made him feel safe. The light radiated from an angel. An angel with hair of gold and a mouth which spoke warm, soothing words to him. "Rest..." The angel slowly withdrew and the light along with him. Duo desperately caught hold of the angel. _Don't leave me! Please! Stay with me!_

"Stay... with.. me..." murmured Duo in his sleep, clasping Quatre's hand tightly in his.

"I am here, Duo. Don't worry." Quatre dabbed off the perspiration on Duo's face with a piece of cloth. "Rest now."

A smile formed on Duo's lips and he went back to sleep, secure in the thought of his angel watching over him.

XXXXXX

Unexpectedly, Heero turned out to be the most eager of them all to find out Duo's condition. The Wing Gundam pilot had quietly entered Duo's room alone to ask Quatre about his findings, nearly frightening Quatre out of his wits by his sudden appearance.

"There is not even a scratch on him. Everything appears normal except..." reported Quatre, after he had overcome his surprise.

"Except?" asked Heero with a hint of anxiety in his voice.

Anxiety? Heero? No, it must have been his imagination. Quatre continued, "Duo has a lock of white hair in his fringe. I'm not sure whether this is significant."

"White hair?" Why did this fact bother him so much? Then it occurred to him. "Shang has a lock of white hair too."

"But what can this mean?" asked Quatre.

"I don't know..." At that moment Duo stirred under the blanket, his unintelligible sleep mumblings began forming coherent words. The American pilot was finally regaining consciousness and all Heero could think of was how to get Quatre out of the room so that he could have a private talk with Duo. "Quatre, you'd better call the others now. I think Duo is waking up."

Quatre nodded and went out to call Trowa and Wufei. Heero quickly closed and locked the door before turning his attention back to Duo. By then, a pair of violet eyes was already staring at him. Those eyes still registered fear and this caused an unexplainable mixture of anger and sadness to well up inside him. Heero made no attempts at being gentle when he approached Duo and grabbed the boy's collar roughly. Heero pulled Duo's face close to his so that the intimidating glow pulsating in his eyes filled Duo's entire vision. "Listen to me very carefully. If you breathe one word... just one word!... to the others about how I had chased Katherine's skirt around that school, I will make you wish you've never been born."

Heero released Duo and waited for his response in order to gauge the effectiveness of the threat. He was flabbergasted when huge dollops of tears poured out of Duo's eyes. And not only was there torrential tears, Duo was also... _crying?!_... so loudly that it sounded like a whooping cough. Heero was so stunned that he did not hear the banging on the door by the other Gundam pilots. After convincing himself that Duo was just pretending, Heero ruthlessly roared, "I am sick and tired of your silly tricks! Can't you be serious for once in your life?!" Duo bawled even more loudly. The sight was so pitiful that Heero began to doubt that Duo was acting.

The door was at last forced open by a well-aimed kick from Wufei and the other three pilots rushed into the room. They became as stunned as Heero when they saw Duo.

Wufei remarked, "Well, at least Duo is still alive. From the volume of the racket he's making, I thought that Heero was killing him."

Quatre shoved Heero out of his path as he made his way to Duo's side. Heero meekly gave way as his mind was still too numb to think properly. "Duo! Please calm down! It's me, Quatre."

Duo stopped bawling and looked at Quatre as if his saviour had arrived, his tear-streaked face forming an expression of unadulterated adoration. "Angel..."

Quatre nearly toppled onto the floor in his shock. Something was definitely abnormal about Duo. "Duo, are you alright? Please don't scare me like this."

"Duo... why do you keep calling me that, Angel?" asked Duo in serious tones.

"Because that's your name...why? Don't tell me you've forgotten your name!" Quatre's voice took on a hysterical edge. "And my name's Quatre, not Angel! Don't you remember?"

"I can't..." Duo winced from the pain that lanced through his skull when he tried to think.

"Amnesia," observed Trowa.

"No, it can't be!" Quatre gestured to the others. "Duo, you do know who they are, don't you?"

All of them watched silently as Duo studied each of them in turn. He lifted a hand and pointed at Heero. "Stoneface."

Heero responded to that insult with a lunge but was restrained by Trowa from behind. "Don't take offence," advised Trowa.

Duo's pointing finger shifted to Trowa. "Broomhead."

The vein near Trowa's temple bulged but besides that, there wasn't any change in his facial expression. He let go of Heero and patted his back encouragingly. "Go ahead."

"Only childish people are offended by childish name-calling," commented Wufei sardonically.

"Yellow Monkey."

It took the combined efforts of Heero, Trowa and Quartre to prevent Wufei from bludgeoning Duo to death with his nunchakes. Quatre shielded Duo with his own body, compelling Trowa to deflect Wufei's blows from Quatre using only his bare arms while Heero had Wufei in a headlock. Duo snuggled closer against Quatre and purred contentedly.

The Bud Part 6 

"Are you sure you don't want me to have a look at your arms? They appear to be quite badly bruised," said Heero as he searched for the first aid kit.

"There are no bone fractures, and the bruises should fade on their own." Trowa had a bemused look which did not escape Heero's detection.

Unsettled by any form of expression on the normally expressionless boy's face, Heero demanded gruffly, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"For a moment you actually sounded as if you were concerned."

_Is Trowa teasing him?_ Heero dismissed that thought as ridiculous after a while. "Has some of Duo's irritating behaviour rubbed off on you as well?"

Trowa noticed that Heero was being more truculent than usual and decided to choose his words more carefully. "I just want to point out to you that you have changed a lot from the cold, killing machine that you once were." When Heero made no reply, Trowa continued, "Ever wondered who or what caused this change in you?"

Heero was relieved when Quatre chose that moment to come out of Duo's room. Trowa seemed to have lost interest in him, shifting his full attention to the blond pilot instead.

Quatre looked exhausted after tending Duo for the past ten hours. "I managed to lull Duo back to sleep..." Quatre's voice suddenly became anxious. "Where's Wufei?"

"We had locked him outside the house," said Trowa. Seeing the look of pure alarm on Quatre's face, he quickly added, "There's no need to worry about him. He had received new orders from the Colony this afternoon and really should be on his way to his designated position."

Quatre breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. "I hope Duo recovers his memory before Wufei returns from his mission. I don't want to face Wufei's wrath again..." A thought struck Quatre and his anxiety returned. "Trowa! Your arms! Are they hurting badly?" He scampered to Trowa's side and examined the battered arms, grimacing at the sight of each blue-black bruise.

"There is no need to worry," said Heero, "Trowa himself had said that..."

"I'm not sure whether there are any bone fractures," interjected Trowa. "But I think there is still need for a good rub down with some balm."

"The first aid kit is in the kitchen. I'll go and get it."

When Quartre was away, Heero looked steadily at Trowa and asked, "Didn't you just say...?"

"A rub down will make the bruises fade faster," Trowa explained hastily.

"Oh." Quartre soon reappeared with his shoulders draped with gauze and his hands balancing ointments, oils and creams of every kind. Sensing that his presence was not wanted, Heero quietly retired to his room.

XXXXXX

He was awakened by the grumbling of his empty stomach. It was a reminder that he had not consumed any solid food for a long time. The dark frightened him, but his hunger pangs refused to be ignored. Reluctantly, he pulled himself from his warm blanket and tiptoed out of his room. He carefully closed the door and was glad that the hinges were not creaky. And now for that food...

He found himself standing in front of a refrigerator before he remembered that his surroundings were alien to him and he shouldn't be able to locate the kitchen so easily. He almost had a cardiac arrest when he heard a cold, deadly voice coming from behind him.

"Move one muscle and I'll put a bullet through your brain."

He could tell that the person who said this was not jesting. However, the voice sounded very familiar... The blood drained from his face when his mind presented him with the image of the voice's owner. "Sto-Stoneface?"

"What..?" The lights went on and he squinted from the brightness. He felt a hand seizing one of his shoulders and spinning him around. Fearful violet eyes met rock-hard blue eyes. "Duo!" Flames of anger began to dance in those blue eyes. "Why are you sneaking around like a thief so late at night?!"

"I... I..." Courage failed him and he clenched his teeth to keep them from chattering. _Where is Angel?_ He did not dare to scream for help for fear of angering Stoneface further. His stomach answered Stoneface on his behalf by growling loudly.

Stoneface continued to stare at him a while longer before his face creased into a smile. The smile made Stoneface's face appear less menacing and he felt his courage returning. "I gather that you are hungry now?"

"Ye..Yes," he stammered in reply. Stoneface's smile had quickly disappeared and he was overwhelmed by a strong desire to see it again.

Stoneface gestured towards the dining table. "Sit down while I prepare something for you to eat."

He could hardly believe his eyes and ears. He had never expected Stoneface to be so... hospitable... and kind. Perhaps he had totally misjudged Stoneface...

"Here, dig in."

He glanced down at what Stoneface had presented on the table before him. A glass of tap water and something that looked like a tube of toothpaste. "Dig into what?" He held up the tube of toothpaste between his thumb and index finger as if it was a poisonous viper. "Is this thing edible? What is this anyway?"

"Space rations."

"How the heck do you eat this?" he asked incredulously.

Stoneface snatched the tube from his fingers, squeezed out one lump of fibrous mass from the tube, chewed and swallowed the lump before returning the tube to him. "Eat. Wash it down with water if you have to."

He meekly accepted the tube but made no attempt to repeat Stoneface's demonstration. "I think I've lost my appetite..." He found himself staring at the barrel of a gun.

"I won't let you starve. Eat," commanded Stoneface in tones that defied argument.

It did not take long for him to decide between getting shot and eating the paste-like food. The whole process of forcing the bland paste down his throat took more than an hour- a process which was made even more difficult by the presence of an armed Stoneface.

"Good," said Stoneface, inspecting the tube to make sure that it was squeezed dry. "You can go back to your room now."

"Monster..." he muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?"

He thanked the stars that Stoneface had not heard his unflattering remark. "I said I don't know where my room is. Can you show me where it is?" he asked sweetly. He realized that he was no longer afraid of Stoneface. Maybe it was because of that instantaneous smile which Stoneface had accidentally revealed to him. Anyone who smiled like that at him could never mean him harm.

"It's the room you came out from," pointed out Stoneface.

"I forgot the route I took to arrive here."

"Up the stairs. To your left. Next to the balcony." It seemed that Stoneface was determined not to be more helpful than necessary.

"Even if I go back to my room, I won't be able to sleep due to nightmares." He exercised his pleading voice. "Can you watch over me while I sleep?"

"No."

Undaunted by Stoneface's brusque answer, he pressed on. "Then can you tell me where Angel's room is? I'll ask him to watch over me instead."

"No."

"How about if I sleep together with you in your room? That way, you don't have to stay awake to watch over me and I can still be comforted by your presence."

Stoneface paused before replying, "No."

He gave Stoneface a baleful look. "You hate Duo, don't you?" The question was so unexpected and sudden that Stoneface was lost for words. "Don't deny it. I had been slapped, yelled at and threatened by you the moment I woke up. I don't know what this Duo character had done to you in the past or why you have a grudge against him. So I will really appreciate it if you don't direct your hatred and resentment towards him at me..."

Stoneface interrupted, "But you are Duo! Duo Maxwell."

"That name means nothing to me."

Stoneface was gravely astonished by his retort. "Duo... what happened to you?" Stoneface took him by the shoulders and shook him violently. "What did Shang do to you?!"

"Hey! Leggo of me!" He tried to dislodge Stoneface's hands from his shoulders but the effort felt as futile as uprooting a tree with his bare hands. "I don't know what happened to me and I don't know who Shang is, so please unhand me!" The places where Stoneface's fingers had dug in were beginning to hurt.

Stoneface released him and he backed away from the Japanese boy. _Japanese?_ Now how did he know that?

"Sorry... I was.. " Stoneface was at a loss for words again.

"Rude, mean, extremely emotional and mentally unsound?" he listed helpfully.

Stoneface nodded his head, appearing to be properly chastised. "I'll watch over you while you sleep. Let's go upstairs now." Stoneface spoke softly, as if lacking the energy to argue further.

XXXXXX

It was there waiting patiently for him in his dreams. It had no soul; no purpose except to rip him apart. Try as hard as he could, he just could not outrun the faceless, mind-ravaging beast that was after him. His legs were like lead, making his escape impossible. He watched in horror as the beast crept slowly towards him...

_Help me! Somebody... Anybody!_ It was a mental call for help but he doubted that anyone had heard it. He was alone here. Alone with a creature hungry for his blood. Hungry for his pain. "Angel!" he cried out in despair.

Suddenly, he was no longer alone. He felt the presence of another person in his dream, a presence that drove away all fear and panic from him. The person lifted his hands and the beast disintegrated, becoming grains as fine as sand that vanished as they fell to the ground. The person turned to him and spoke directly to his mind. "Are you alright?"

For some unknown reason, he knew that this person could be trusted and would never harm him. The concern in the person's mental voice was too real to be faked. "I'm fine. And you are..?" He had gotten a closer look at his rescuer and found him to be a complete stranger. It wasn't Angel or Stoneface. It wasn't Broomhead or Yellow Monkey either.

The person walked towards him and stopped one pace away from him. He was startled when the person reached out and touched his cheek, but he made no move to weave away. His reaction seemed to please the person. "Do you no longer despise me?"

"Why should I despise you?" he asked, puzzled. "I don't even know who you are."

"What?" The person's surprise was clearly shown. "You don't remember?"

"Have we met before?" He silently cursed the memory loss he was suffering from. This person must have meant a lot to him in the past. He trusted this person, and he was not one who trusted people easily.

The person did not appear angry or frustrated. "It's okay if you can't remember me." Far from it, the person exuded relief and gladness. "Let me reintroduce myself..."

XXXXXX

Heero drank in the sight of Duo's sleeping form. Although he made heavy weather of granting Duo his request, he was secretly looking forward to it.

Heero spent a long time brooding over the feelings he had for the softly snoring boy on the bed. As Katherine Kane, the boy was everything that he had ever loved and wanted. As Duo Maxwell, the boy was a jester with a special talent of getting on his nerves. _You hate Duo, don't you?_ Heero was still trying to find an answer to that question.

Duo began whispering in his sleep. Heero thought that it was just more of Duo's incoherent mumblings until he caught the word 'Shang'. Thinking that he had heard wrongly, he lowered his head so that his ear was just centimetres away from Duo's moving lips. The word was heard again. "Shang."

XXXXXX

The glare of the sunlight streaming through the windows woke him up. He got up and stretched himself, simultaneously yawning loudly. He looked around and was annoyed to find that Stoneface had not kept his promise. He was all alone in his room.

_Stoneface must have went back to his room immediately after I have fallen asleep._ He was fortunate that Shang was there to save him from that nightmarish beast. From now on, he would have no more problems sleeping with Shang as a guardian of his dreams. Shang... Was it possible that the 'Shang' Stoneface referred to was the same 'Shang' who appeared in his dream last night? _Impossible_ was his conclusion after a moment's thought.

His thick braid fell over his shoulder and he saw that it was mussed. Strands of hair were sticking out of it, giving it the appearance of a frayed rope. What kind of a boy was Duo anyway? To allow his hair to grow this long – longer even than most girls. Was Duo a sissy? A faggot? Any further thoughts about his predecessor along this line chilled his heart and he quickly sought other things to occupy his mind. His eyes fell on a pair of scissors on the wooden table beside his bed.

XXXXXX

"Er... good morning, Heero," greeted Quatre nervously.

Heero pretended not to hear him and continued to pound savagely on the punching bag. The chain holding the punching bag to the ceiling rattled dangerously, as if on the verge of snapping. He needed the pounding of blood in his ears to drown out everything else inside him. Every thought. Every emotion. The floor was wet with droplets of his sweat.

"It's about Duo, isn't it?" asked Trowa who was standing beside Quatre.

Heero froze and the swinging punching bag caught him squarely on the chest. The wind was knocked out of him and he stopped to recover his breath. "I don't know what you're talking about," growled Heero.

Quatre asked curiously, "Does this have anything to do with Duo?"

Trowa ignored both Heero's denial and Quatre's question. "Why don't you ask Duo to come down for breakfast? He should be ravenous by now, it's been five hours since his last meal."

Heero wiped his steamy face with a towel. "You were fast sleep at that time, so you don't know that I had given him something to eat at four o'clock this morning."

Trowa glanced at his watch. "It's nine o'clock now. Five hours exactly." Trowa walked away without another word, leaving behind a stunned Heero and a confused Quatre.

"What was that all about?" asked Quatre.

Heero stomped up the stairs without bothering to answer Quatre. He opened the door to Duo's room without knocking and puffed up his chest in preparation to yell. The words died on his tongue when he saw Duo with his hair undone and a pair of scissors in his hand. Several locks of chestnut brown hair littered the floor.

It was another case of his body reacting faster than his brain. In a flash, Heero had twisted the scissors out of Duo's grasp. Duo yelped in pain and shrieked, "Leggo of me, you lunatic!" Heero delivered a slap across Duo's cheek before he could stop himself.

Duo looked as if someone had knocked the back of his head with a board. Heero expected Duo to cry again, and was not disappointed. What he did not expect, however, was retaliation. Duo kicked, kneed, chopped and clawed him before running out of the room to cry on Quatre's shoulder.

XXXXXX

Summoned by the commotion, Trowa arrived at the scene to find Heero picking himself up from the floor. The blue-eyed pilot looked like what the dogs fought over. His body was slouched and there was a defeated look in his eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Trowa concernedly.

"If I say no, will you leave me alone?"

"No," admitted Trowa. He saw the long hair scattered on the floor. "You were trying to stop Duo from cutting his own hair, weren't you?"

Heero merely grunted and said nothing.

"Why?"

"Because... because I have foresight," finished Heero lamely. "Do you remember the incident when Duo returned from one of his missions with his hair partly singed?"

"Oh yeah, I remember." Trowa placed a finger on his lower lip, appearing to be deep in thought. "He lamented over it for a week..."

"Ten days." Trowa was mildly amused by Heero's correction. Heero coughed and said, "If I let him cut his hair, none of us will have a decent night's sleep once Duo recovers his memory."

"You have a point there," said Trowa "But is that the only reason why you stopped him just now?"

Heero refused to acknowledge what Trowa was hinting at. "That's the only reason," he spat, walking out of the room and away from Trowa.

The Bud Part 7 

The following two days were comparatively uneventful. Aside from Duo's tendency to cling onto Quatre like a barnacle and shun Heero as he would a leper, everything was just as normal as the old days. The third day brought news that caused a small upheaval in their otherwise peaceful lives.

"Please understand, Duo," insisted Quatre courteously as he tried to break free from Duo's death hold. The long-braided boy had encircled Quatre's waist with his arms after Quatre made the announcement that he had to leave for a few days.

"No! I don't understand and I refuse to understand! How can you be so cruel as to leave me all alone here?!"

"Duo..." Quatre grunted as he made another unsuccessful attempt to free himself. Duo may have lost his memory, but definitely not his strength. "I thought I made myself perfectly clear just now, I have a mission to accomplish..." Duo hugged him even more tightly, causing spots of black and white to explode at the edge of his vision. Only sheer willpower alone stopped him from blacking out entirely.

Trowa silently approached them with a mallet in his hands, offering his assistance, but Quatre frantically waved him away.

"Listen, Duo. You won't be alone here. Heero and Trowa will keep you company."

"That's the problem!" wailed Duo, directing piteous red-rimmed eyes at Quatre. "I'll be dead meat if you're not around! Both Stoneface and Broomhead hate me!"

"If you stop calling them by those names, maybe they won't be half as hostile as they are now," explained Quatre logically. "We've rehearsed this several times, remember? Stoneface is Heero and Broomhead is Trowa. And my name is Quatre."

"Which one of them is Stoneface?" asked Duo, still not easing his hold.

Quatre used his thumb to point at the Japanese pilot who appeared to be engrossed with his laptop ten feet away. It was the shortest distance that Duo would allow between him and Heero without freaking out and screaming blue murder. "That's Stoneface. I thought you knew that already."

"Yo, Stoneface!" shouted Duo in greeting. Duo swiveled his head just in time to avoid getting seared by Heero's furious, penetrating gaze.

Quartre buried his face in his hands. "This isn't working," muttered Quartre to himself in exasperation. He should have given up trying to teach Duo anything a long time ago. The memory loss did nothing to reduce Duo's headstrong attitude, even by a minuscule fraction.

Trowa came up with a solution to rescue Quatre from his predicament. "Let me take over your mission."

Duo beamed at Trowa in approval. "That's the best suggestion I have heard from you so far, Broomhead."

Quatre protested, "But I can't just hand over this mission to you... It's just not done!"

"What exactly do you need to do?" asked Trowa.

"It involves the destruction of a weapons research centre up north."

"There's no problem then. My Heavy Arms can perform the job just as well as your Sand Rock."

"But..." Quatre still had qualms about endangering Trowa's life with a mission which was rightfully his.

"Angel! He wants to go! Let him go then," interrupted Duo hurriedly, his voice pleading.

"Besides, neither Heero nor I has the patience to take care of this little twerp over here," said Trowa with a straight face.

"I resent that 'little twerp' remark!" exclaimed Duo angrily, his nostrils flaring.

"Naturally. It is meant to be an insult." Trowa calmly ignored the fiery comebacks. He turned to Quatre. "I'll collect the itinerary and coordinates from you later."

Trowa moved towards Heero while Duo's provoked tantrums erupted behind him. "I need to talk to you for a minute," said Trowa softly so that only Heero could hear him. Heero cast him a questioning look but he merely signaled to the balcony. Heero followed him, but more out of curiosity than any real desire to do so.

Trowa checked to make sure that they were out of earshot before speaking, "Keep an eye on the two of them when I'm not around."

Heero gave him a few seconds of stare before responding. "Why are you asking me to do this?"

"I'm not asking you to do it. I'm **ordering** you to do it." The slight emphasis of words betrayed Trowa's emotion.

"You are in no position to give me orders," said Heero icily.

"And you are in no position to say 'no'." Trowa inhaled deeply before unleashing the words contained inside him which screamed for release. "It's your fault that Duo lost his memory. It's your fault that he is now inseparable from Quatre. It's your fault that I have to leave for this mission. If you have taken better care of what is yours, none of this will happen. So it's only justifiable that you fulfill your responsibilities and set everything right again or, at the very least, prevent the situation from becoming worse. Got that?"

Heero was surprised by the heat in Trowa's voice. However, his surprise was not enough to bring his attention from something Trowa had said that disturbed him. "What do you mean by 'what is mine'?"

"You know what I mean." Not giving Heero the chance to argue, Trowa continued, "I want your word that you will not let Quatre and Duo out of your sight during my absence."

Heero had a strong feeling that Trowa would not allow him to leave the balcony as long as his request was not granted. Of course, if he really wanted to escape from the balcony, he could always jump over the railing and there was nothing that Trowa could do to stop him. After thinking for a moment, Heero decided to take the less painful path. "Alright, you have my word."

XXXXXX

_Broomhead is gone at last!_ he thought elatedly. At first, he did not mind having Broomhead around the house. However, when Broomhead started to deter him from being too close to Angel time after time (usually by yanking his braid), he could not help but dislike the taciturn boy. Now that Broomhead was away, he could be with Angel all day long without any rough interruptions. "There's a very beautiful lake outside," he said in a suggestive tone. When Angel did not answer him, he lightly tapped a shoulder to gain his attention.

"Did you say something?" asked Angel, stirred from his brooding silence.

He repeated himself.

"Yeah," said Angel, and was silent again.

Something was not right. Angel was never this pensive before. He decided to dispense with subtle hints. "I want to swim in that lake."

Angel looked up from his scrutiny of the floorboards. "You can find your swimming trunks in one of the chest drawers in your room."

"I want you to swim in that lake too," he said, a bit too directly.

Angel finally understood.

XXXXXX

"Heero, I need your help in calming Duo down," said Quatre desperately from the doorway to Heero's room.

Heero said impassively, "What happened?"

"I don't know. Ever since we got back from our swim..."

"Oh? Both of you went swimming?" asked Heero, acting as if this was news to him. He pretended that he did not spend the afternoon spying on them with a pair of binoculars. He also pretended that he had not spent an entire hour watching Duo's glistening skin and wet, unruly hair that, for some strange reason, fascinated him no end.

"Yes. In the lake. Everything was fine until just now. I don't know what has gotten into Duo. He is turning his room inside out, searching for something and there's nothing I can do to make him stop..." Quatre looked as if he was about to pull tufts of hair from his head.

"I'll have a look at him," said Heero in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.

They found Duo in the living room, overturning the sofas and scouring every square inch of the floor. "Where is it? Where is it? Oh God, don't tell me I've lost it..." muttered Duo disconsolately, paying scarce attention to their presence. Heero saw with amazement that there were tears in Duo's eyes.

"Duo..." began Quatre, and took a step forward. That was a mistake, for the sole of his foot had barely touched the floor before Duo spun suddenly and let out a piercing cry.

"Watch where you're placing that foot!!"

Quatre, not daring to aggravate Duo's condition, froze with one leg slightly raised above the ground. He watched in horror as Heero marched towards Duo purposefully without even bothering to look at where he was stepping. He was sure that the shocked expression on Duo's face mirrored his own.

Anger took the place of shock as Duo faced Heero. "How dare you!" Duo bunched his hands into fists and swung. Heero caught hold of Duo's sailing fist in his hand, his fingers finding a secure hold in the grooves between Duo's knuckles. He did the same with Duo's other fist, and that left only the legs to be dealt with. Before Duo's feet could lash out at groin height, Heero quickly removed that option stepping on them, taking care not to fracture any bones.

"Can we talk now? Like mature and civilized human beings?" said Heero patronizingly.

"You release me this instant, barf-face!" hissed Duo through gritted teeth.

"What are you looking for?" asked Heero, pretending not to hear him.

"None of your business, dog's-breath!" Duo made another vain attempt to pull away.

"I'm making it my business." The hardness in Heero's eyes could have driven nails into solid rock. "What are you looking for?"

"If you really must know, lard-butt, it's a ring!" Duo's sulky eyes were shining with defiance.

"Ring?" _Could Duo be referring to...?_ "What..." _But that's impossible!_ "..What kind of ring?"

"I don't see why I should tell..."

"Just answer me!" snapped Heero, perhaps more harshly than he should.

Duo's eyes narrowed speculatively. "It has a blue gem on it.."

Strong winds of confusion blew in Heero's skull, turning everything he knew about Duo- or **thought** he knew about Duo- topsy-turvy. It made no sense. Duo used to treasure his hair as much as his own life in the past. Now he holds it in as much regard as a pair of old socks. And the situation was reversed for the sapphire ring which he had presented to Duo as a gift. It made no sense at all! It could not have been mere amnesia that Duo was suffering from. Severe brain damage, more likely. Or...

Heero did not realize that he had let his guard down until Duo's forehead smashed against his. Caught by complete surprise, Heero fell backward and the two of them landed on the floor in a heap. With some difficulty, Duo managed to disentangle himself from Heero and roll away. Rubbing his forehead furiously, Duo groaned, "Jeez! When I named you Stoneface, I didn't realize how accurate I was!"

Heero was still waiting for the bright stars before his eyes to stop dancing.

Quatre was shaken out of his stupor by this unexpected turn of events. He whirled, ran to the kitchen and returned to the scene with two packs of ice. Heero looked like a coiled king cobra about to strike and Quatre bravely sat between him and Duo to serve as a buffer. Quatre breathed more easily when Heero took the proffered ice pack quietly. Duo was grumbling about thick skulls and blockheads when Quatre turned to him. "Duo, I am advising you, as a concerned friend, not to test Heero's patience anymore."

"It's not my fault!" Duo visibly winced when Quatre firmly pressed the ice against the bump on his forehead. "Stoneface was the one who barged in and disrupted my search."

"Yes, I admit that he shouldn't have been so rough on you just now." Quatre glanced over his shoulder, saw Heero's dark expression, gulped and continued in hushed tones. "But for your own sake and mine, please continue your search somewhere else."

"But where else could I have possibly dropped it?" wailed Duo, his eyes brimming with tears that threatened to spill out.

Quatre had some misgivings about giving Duo the suggestion that was on his mind. But he had to keep the two boys apart until he was sure that Heero was no longer keen on using Duo as a human punching bag. "It could be in the lake."

Quatre saw Duo's eyes widen in alarm before the rest of the body attached to those eyes sprang up and dashed out of the house. The sentimental value of the missing ring must have been astronomical to Duo, to cause him to react in this way. "Do you know how Duo came by that ring?" asked Quatre, directing his question at Heero.

Heero paused in his dabbing movements before growling, "How should I know?"

XXXXXX

Peering out of a glass window worriedly, Quatre soon regretted voicing his suggestion to Duo. Duo had been submerging and resurfacing in the lake repeatedly for nearly four hours and had refused to be persuaded to eat anything. Dusk was approaching but Duo showed no signs of stopping his insane search. To make matters worse, there were strong winds stirring up water currents in the lake and chilling Duo's poorly clothed body.

Fatigue, cold and hunger began to take their toll on Duo and he finally collapsed bonelessly on the bank from sheer exhaustion. Quatre immediately rushed out to bring Duo in but halted in his tracks when he saw a figure jumping down from a tree near Duo's prone form. The figure gently gathered Duo in its arms and started walking towards him. Under the dim lighting from the house behind him, Quatre identified the figure and was so surprised that he stayed rooted to the spot with his mouth hanging open.

Heero deliberately ignored him and carried Duo up the stairs to his room. After giving Duo a change of clothes and wringing as much water from his thick braid as possible, Heero tucked the sleeping boy under a blanket. It was then that he got a closer look at Duo. Duo's eyelids were puffy, as if from excessive weeping, and the skin covering his face and fingers were all wrinkled from being underwater for too long.

"Baka," he said softly, almost fondly.

Heero switched off the table lamp beside Duo's bed and went back to his own room. He dug into a drawer and took out a small, portable radar. There was still some daylight left. He would bring along a submersible torchlight, just in case.

XXXXXX

Shang washed the wound with antiseptic before bandaging up his right hand. His left shoulder still throbbed with a dull ache where his previous gunshot wound was. Undoubtedly branded a traitor to be shot upon sight, he could not take the risk of seeking medical help in clinics or hospitals. He knew that he would sever all his ties with OZ the moment he decided to pull his gun on Sheila, and he had not regretted that decision. OZ had no need for pilots who were not 'functional' and he understood more clearly than anyone else that he would not be able to return to the skies without Maxwell by his side as his wingmate.

The thought of Maxwell brought a fresh pang of guilt. The gut-twisting guilt that came from the realization that he had unwittingly helped Sheila to break Maxwell's mind. Despite the failure to establish a complete bond between their minds, Shang still regarded him as his wingmate. That was the main reason why he was still stubbornly holding on to that tenuous link with Maxwell's mind. The main reason why he was expending all his mental strength every night to communicate with Maxwell's mind and to shield his dreams from nightmares. His efforts were not wasted as he could feel the bond becoming stronger with every bit of extra trust he gained from Maxwell. This trust would serve him well when the time comes for him to take Maxwell away from Hojo Tsukasa, or any others who might be guarding him.

A gentle tingling at the back of his mind informed him that Maxwell's mind was accessible to him. It was a feeling which he missed acutely and yearned for eversince Cheng left him. He allowed his thoughts to drift...

Shang found him in a dark recess of his mind. Maxwell appeared to be only seven or eight years old in his dreams, a sign that the damage done by the macrophage had caused some form of mind regression to occur. The much younger Maxwell was on his hands and knees, his eyes scanning the ground before him desperately. Puzzled, Shang moved closer towards him, only to be startled back a few steps.

"Watch where you're placing that foot!!" screamed Maxwell, looking extremely enraged. However, after taking a closer look at him, Maxwell's expression softened. "Sorry, I didn't know it was you. I thought..." Maxwell brightened up visibly as a thought occurred to him. "Shang, you've gotta help me find it. It's around here somewhere. If we look for it together, we'll find it in no time..."

This went on for another five minutes before Shang decided to interrupt.

"Maxwell, I can't help you if you don't tell me what is this 'it' you keep on talking about." He was becoming worried with the way Maxwell was behaving. Could this be a sign of further mental deterioration? The macrophage must have inflicted more damage than he had thought.

"It's a ring, Shang, a ring. It was on my finger one moment, you know, and then it's no longer there! Curses, someone must have stolen it... no, that's not right... I lost it myself. I shouldn't have gone swimming. Shouldn't! If I have known..."

"Calm down!" He regretted having to raise his voice against Maxwell but could find no other way to stop him from going into hysterics. Seeing the hurt look in Maxwell's eyes, he quickly walked forward and held the boy gently until the look disappeared from his eyes. "That ring..." began Shang, his voice deliberately soft and soothing. "Why is it so important to you?"

There was a long period of silence in response.

"Maxwell?" asked Shang uncertainly.

"Don't rush me. I'm still thinking," said Maxwell, sounding slightly embarrassed.

Shang knelt down so that both of them were eye to eye. "Maxwell, are you trying to tell me that...?"

"Hey! You're not the one with the memory loss here!" declared Maxwell defensively, trying to justify his irrational behaviour.

"I'm also not the one with hysteria here, and for no apparent reason," stated Shang calmly.

"Of course there's a reason!" retorted Maxwell angrily. "I... I just haven't recalled it yet." Confusion and frustration chased each other around his face as he continued, "It's just one of the few things that I'm very sure of in my present state. Like my trust in you. Like... like my knowledge of where the fridge is... Like..."

The need for understanding in Maxwell's voice was so palpable that it could not be ignored. "I understand what you're going through, Maxwell. Say no more about this if you do not wish to."

Maxwell embraced him impulsively, locking his hands behind Shang's neck. "Thank you." Shang could feel the withdrawal of warmth when Maxwell pulled away. "At least now I have some idea why I can still remember certain things and not others," said Maxwell hastily, as if trying to cover up the awkwardness of the situation. "I think my heart remembers what my mind has forgotten."

"So does your stomach," added Shang, his lips forming the ghost of a smile. Maxwell's body shook with suppressed laughter for a while before he burst into guffaws. Shang noted how wonderful his laugh was. He remembered a time when he was still capable of the same thing. Being with Maxwell gave him the certainty that he would be able to experience joy and laughter again. _I need to have more than just mental contact with him. I need..._

"Maxwell..."

The laughing boy paused and waited expectantly for him to continue.

"Do you want to arrange for us to meet outside your dreams?"


	4. The Blossom

**The Blossom Part 1**

Quatre was jarred awake by the squeals emanating from Duo's room. Groggy and still half-asleep, he forced himself to get up and investigate the cause of the noise. He could not interpret the emotion behind those squeals and really hoped that they were not the result of Heero doing something unpleasant to Duo. He was having a very hard time figuring Heero out. Half the time, the Japanese boy acted as if he wanted to tear Duo to pieces while other times he was… almost protective towards the other boy. Quatre never thought it possible that one human being could present so many contradictions.

As soon as he stepped out of his room, he turned towards the direction of Duo's room- just in time to watch an exuberant Duo launching himself straight at him. The momentum behind forty-five kilograms of muscle and bone knocked him backwards and he became increasingly panicked as both their bodies skidded dangerously close to the edge of the staircase.

His right hand shot out to grab hold of the railing and he breathed a sigh of relief when his quick action managed to stop any further backward movement. However, the heart hammering in his chest hadn't slowed down its pace as they were still balancing precariously at the top of the stairs. He was about to demand a reason for the ambush when Duo cut him off with joyful cries of "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou…". Quartre was trying to puzzle out exactly what Duo was thanking him for when Duo did something that could only be deemed as suicidal; or homicidal, depending on how you looked at the situation. Duo hugged him, pinning his arms to his sides.

Quatre's heart sank as he felt his grip on the railing slipping and his feet losing their purchase on the ground. His legs went out from under him and he stepped down hard… into empty space.

Both of them winded up at the bottom of the stairs with Duo half-sitting on him as if he was a human sled. Quatre was lying on his back, on the clammy floor, with his left leg doubled beneath him. Every part of his battered body was sending intense pain signals to his brain, causing a lump of nausea to form in his throat.

"Uh… Angel?"

Quatre did not answer him immediately for fear of throwing up. He was also finding it increasingly difficult to breathe with Duo's weight pressing down on him.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to…I…" babbled Duo, his voice genuinely contrite. He even appeared to be on the verge of tears. "I'm very sorry! Very, very…"

"Ge…get…o…fff," gasped Quatre with the little air remaining in his lungs.

Duo 'eep'-ed and quickly scrambled off the dazed boy that he was sitting on. Duo continued to apologize profusely while Quatre silently did a systematic examination of the damage done to his body by the fall. He tried wriggling his toes. They moved- which was a good sign as this showed that his spinal cord was still intact. He tried to straighten his left leg and winced when his ankle was moved. No grinding sensation, so it wasn't a fracture. Most likely it was a sprain. Between a sprain and a fracture, he'd prefer the sprain any day. He was a bit grateful for getting the lesser of two evils.

Heero's face soon hovered above him when he was mentally assessing his condition. Duo eyed Heero warily but made no move to leave his side.

"Any serious injuries?" asked Heero curtly.

"No… at least I don't think it's that serious… just a mild…" Quatre's voice trailed off when he saw that Heero had not bothered to wait for him to finish his reply. There was a sound of a chair being pulled back and the clicking of keys on a laptop resumed. "… ankle sprain." He exhaled softly and propped himself up on his elbows. Contradiction again. For a moment back there, he was almost convinced that there was a look of concern on Heero's face. He turned his attention to Duo who was still kneeling next to him with a worried expression. "Now will you mind explaining why you want to get both of us –or at least, just me– killed just now?"

"That wasn't my intention! I swear!"

Quatre rotated his left leg to a more comfortable position. "So why did you do it?"

"I just wanted to show my gratitude! For.. for… this!" Duo held up his left hand eagerly to reveal the sapphire ring worn on his middle finger. "It was on my table this morning and I just **knew** that it was you! Oh Angel, thank you so much for the trouble you've gone through to…."

"Hold on a minute," interrupted Quatre quickly before Duo could ramble on. "I didn't put any ring on your table." He remembered seeing Heero going out to the lake again after he brought Duo in last night. Could he be the one…?

"What? It wasn't you?" Duo was beginning to sound unsure of himself.

Quatre shook his head in reply.

"Then who could it be?" asked Duo in a quiet voice.

Quatre suspected that Duo himself knew the answer to that but was unwilling to acknowledge it. "There is no one else."

Both of them turned to gaze at the boy who was typing away on his laptop. Heero did not even look up from the computer screen. "If that's the way you show gratitude, I don't want any of it" was all he said.

XXXXXX

_Stoneface? Stoneface was the one who retrieved the ring??_ _But why?! _He was suddenly very annoyed, even a bit angry. Just when he thought that he could hate Stoneface with abandon, the psycho **had** to do something to make him feel so grateful. To make him feel that… he mattered.

He grudgingly admitted that he owed Stoneface his thanks but all thoughts about it vaporized when he heard Stoneface's snide remark. If that psycho thought that he should be grateful, he would go all the way out to prove that he wasn't. He refused to give Stoneface that satisfaction. He walked towards Stoneface, his face set in a determined expression. He could hear Angel's soft pleadings behind him to get him to turn back.

Stoneface briefly glanced at him over the top of the laptop screen before returning his attention to whatever it was that he was doing.

"Why did you do it?" he asked.

Stoneface gave no indication that he heard anything and continued typing on the keyboard. The nonchalant way in which Stoneface brushed him aside triggered a flush of anger. Without knowing exactly what he was trying to achieve with his brash action, he slammed the screen down. Stoneface managed to jerk his fingers back before they were crushed between the screen and the keyboard. Stoneface stood up slowly and directed a chilly glare at him.

_Too late for regrets now._ "I asked you a question and I expect an answer," he said, with more bravado than he felt. Stoneface still studied him quietly with those cold, blue eyes of his. _So cold… like shards of ice. Shards of ice that cut and draw blood._

"You want an answer?" It was a rhetorical question. "I'll give you an answer." From Stoneface's tone of voice, he could tell that he wouldn't like the answer being offered one bit. "I did what I did for Duo."

He blinked confusedly at Stoneface. The reply came as quite a surprise to him.

Stoneface continued, "Yes, Duo. Not you. And do you know why?" Another rhetorical question. "Because you aren't Duo. You may look like him. You may sound like him. But you are not, and never will be, **him**."

He himself had said that the name 'Duo Maxwell' meant nothing to him. So what if Stoneface decided to remind him that he wasn't the old Duo? It shouldn't bother him at all. He knew that all along. Damn, his chest was starting to hurt. He could also feel tears rushing into his eyes but he held them back grimly. He'd rather die than to break down in front of Stoneface… rather die than to show Stoneface that those words had hurt him.

"That's also the reason why I prevented you from cutting that long hair. It's his hair, not yours, and you have no right to cut it. You're merely an impostor taking over a body before its rightful owner returns." He could see contempt in Stoneface's eyes. "So don't ever think that you can demand or expect anything from me."

He could stand it no longer. He wheeled and ran up the stairs.

XXXXXX

Heero closed his eyes, feeling a bit disgusted with himself. That was just so… petty of him. He wanted to hurt Duo, just as the braided boy had hurt him. He felt that it was unfair for Duo to be so blissfully ignorant of how his actions had been affecting him. Treating him like a complete stranger… sometimes, even like a mortal enemy. Not even willing to call him by his real name. Being so damned close to Quatre… Heero opened his eyes suddenly, shocked by his own train of thoughts.

He saw Quatre standing in front of him with a stern look of disapproval on his face. "Why don't you slap Duo while you're at it?" said the Arabian pilot angrily.

"What?"

"Heero Yuy, not everyone has a heart of stone like you," reprimanded Quatre. "Normal people have feelings – feelings that can get hurt easily. What you just said to Duo a moment ago was downright mean."

"Now hold on…"

"No, you hold on!" snapped the usually gentle-mannered boy. "Are you so blind that you miss seeing the devastated look on Duo's face? It was worse than the one he wore after you hit him a few days ago. Heero, he needs our support and care now more than ever. He doesn't need your punitive behavior."

"Have you finished yet?" Heero had sat down and was pretending to be absorbed in his laptop.

Quatre said nothing. Heero was half expecting him to slam the screen down like what Duo did. He was relieved when Quatre simply limped away.

XXXXXX

Maxwell was crying. Shang approached the sobbing young boy tentatively.

"Maxwell? What happened?" It pained him to see his wingmate in such a state. Whoever did this to Maxwell would pay dearly.

Maxwell crumpled onto Shang's shoulder and cried softly, "Sh-Shang? D-do you… s-see me a-as an impostor?"

"Whatever made you think that?" asked Shang, surprised by the question.

"I-I mean, I'm p-presently not the person I used to be, am I? I'm just some sort of a freak with no recollection of his past. I'm just a redundant pain in the…"

Shang silenced him by cupping Maxwell's tear-streaked face between his hands. "Maxwell, no matter how you change, my feelings for you will never change. To me, you are never 'redundant'."

Maxwell's pinched face lit up upon hearing his reply. He buried his face in Shang's shoulder and let warm tears soak into the fabric. "How…" whispered Maxwell wistfully. "How I wish that he would say those same words to me."

Shang tensed up. "He?"

"I don't want to talk about him… not now," said Maxwell drowsily.

Shang did not pursue it any further but was nonetheless very troubled. He suddenly had this strong desire to get Maxwell away from his comrades before… before what? "Maxwell, have you given some thought about the question I asked you last night?"

"Hmmm?" mumbled Maxwell incoherently as if he was having difficulty focussing. It was a sign of troubled sleep on Maxwell's part. "You mean… the one about us seeing each other? In the real world?"

"Yes. If you feel that you can no longer stay with those people who are taking care of you now, come to me."

"I told you that I'll think about it only after I've found my ring…" Shang's face fell upon hearing this, but not for long. "…and I have found it." Maxwell pulled back to gaze intensely at his face. "Tell me where I have to go to meet you."

XXXXXX

"Angel?"

Quatre sat up from he had dozed off beside Duo's bed. He had fallen asleep waiting for Duo to wake up from his slumber. "Yes, Duo, it's me. Are you okay now?"

Duo looked at him with downcast eyes. "Yeah, I'm alright." He did not sound, or look, alright at all.

Quatre glanced at the small alarm clock on Duo's table. It registered the time as 11 a.m. "Say what… why don't you and I go out to the city for the rest of the day? It sure beats getting cooped up in this house and the fresh air will do you some good." Quatre could see that the suggestion had pleased Duo. Those flat, downcast eyes brightened up slightly.

"Brunswick Mall," was Duo's unexpected reply.

"Huh?"

"There is a place called Brunswick Mall in the city, isn't there?" asked Duo hopefully.

"I'm not sure, but I can find out where it is…" It was strange that Duo was able to remember an area in the city even when he had totally forgotten everything else. "It's that where you want to go?"

Duo was silent for a moment before looking away and replying, "Yes, I want to go."

Quatre caught a glimpse of the guilty look that flashed briefly across Duo's face but could not fathom the reason for it. "Get dressed then. Meet me downstairs in ten minutes."

XXXXXX

"I am bringing Duo out to the city."

Heero typed random commands into his computer. In actual fact, he didn't have any real work to be done with his laptop. It was just a way for him to carry out his promise to Trowa without looking suspicious.

"We'll come back before dusk."

Heero still gave no indication that he was listening.

At that time, Duo came down the stairs and followed Quatre out through the main door. Duo deliberately avoided looking in Heero's direction.

_3 minutes… 2 minutes… 1 minute…_With Quatre's limp, they shouldn't be able to move too fast. Heero left the house, making sure that he locked the door behind him.

XXXXXX

"Look, I promise I won't take long. I just want to have a walk around that shopping complex across the road. Alone," he told Angel. As he said this, Shang's words whispered in his mind. _I will meet you at the indoor water fountain on the ground floor. I won't appear unless you come alone._

Angel was still reluctant to leave him by himself. "I still think that it is better for me to come along with you."

"No, I'll be fine," he insisted. "Besides, you have injured your ankle and it is best that you don't move around too much." Angel had assured him that his ankle was fine but he was fooling no one. Angel's left ankle had become increasingly red and puffy with each step and his limp more pronounced.

"Duo, I'm afraid that you'll get lost."

He stiffened in spite of himself. So that was why Angel wanted to keep a close eye on him. "You really think so, don't you? You think that I can't take care of myself."

"Don't take this wrongly. I'm just concerned…"

"If I'm still the old Duo Maxwell, will you be mothering me like this?" He saw the sad look on Angel's face and immediately regretted what he just said. Angel did not deserve to be tongue-lashed like that. "I'm sorry…"

"No, I should be the one apologizing," said Angel. "For not realizing that you feel that way." Angel smiled at him, more for his benefit than out of any real feelings of merriment. "You go ahead while I wait for you here."

Angel was so kind and understanding that it hurt to betray his trust. Before his resolve to meet Shang could crumble, he muttered his thanks and crossed the road quickly.

XXXXXX

_Damn. Why do they have to split up?_ This made his task so much more difficult. Heero did some mental calculations in his head before settling on following Duo. Between the two, Quatre was more capable of taking care of himself.

Heero put on a pair of sunglasses and adjusted the cap on his head. He tried not to think about how idiotic he looked. Unfortunately, it was necessary in order to keep most of his face hidden from view. He saw Duo standing beside a water fountain and looking around. It almost seemed as if he was waiting for someone.

XXXXXX

Quatre squirmed on the bench by the roadside. He never should have let Duo go off alone just now. In Duo's present condition, anything could happen. Ten minutes had passed already and Duo was still nowhere in sight.

_There is no use in sitting here and waiting_. Quatre got up and limped slowly to the zebra crossing. He only started to walk across the road when he saw the flashing green man. With his limp, he was sure that he wouldn't be able to avoid an incoming vehicle even if his life depended on it. As if to prove how true that statement was, a motorcycle rushed at him from the narrow space between two stationary cars. The motorcyclist did not have any intention of braking.

Seeing the danger that he was in, Quatre tried to leap out of the way. It was unfortunate that his left ankle was sprained, thereby slowing down his movements considerably. He could feel his body being lifted off the ground as the motorcycle plowed into him. The next thing he knew, his battered body was lying on the asphalted road. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth as he slowly lost consciousness.

XXXXXX

Heero could not believe his eyes when he identified the teenager who was approaching Duo. What shocked him even more was the way Duo greeted Shang, jumping up happily and wrapping his arms around his neck. He was so utterly confused by the sight that for a moment, he could only stand and stare. Then instincts took over and he made a beeline for the pair, a murderous look in his eyes. _There are civilians in this area. You'll attract attention to yourself. Do not pull out that gun…_Like hell! Heero ignored the warnings ringing in his head and reached for his weapon. He wanted to blow Shang right off the face of the earth right then and there.

Shang seemed to have detected his presence and spoke something into Duo's ear. Duo nodded and walked away obediently. Obediently. And Heero could not even get within five feet of Duo without being brained by the flying projectiles thrown at him by the American pilot. The image of Duo embracing Shang flashed in his mind again, intensifying his murderous thoughts. It was just as well that Shang had sent Duo away. What he intended for Shang would be very messy.

The very air seemed to crackle with tension as Heero faced Shang, his gun carefully concealed under his jacket but nonetheless deadly and aimed right at Shang's heart.

"What the hell are you doing here? You have ten seconds to answer me before I kill you," demanded Heero in a deadly, quiet voice.

"Please put that gun away before you attract the security guards," said Shang amiably. It was evident that the boy was not the least bit threatened by either his gun or his words.

Heero was very tempted to pull the trigger, but years of training as a soldier had taught him not to take unnecessary risks. Shang did not appear to be armed. "Five seconds."

Shang looked at him straight in the eye. "I have come to take Maxwell away."

"And you really think that you can get away with that?"

Shang smiled, in a way which Heero found unsettling. "Do you hear the sirens outside?"

Heero frowned and listened intently. He heard the faint sounds which Shang wanted him to hear. "So what about it?" asked Heero, slightly annoyed.

"That's an ambulance siren. A blond-haired boy just got hit by a motorcycle a few minutes ago. I think you know him…"

Heero rushed forward and grabbed the lapels of Shang's coat roughly with both hands. He immediately realized his mistake when he felt the touch of cold steel against his neck. Shang had a small razor hidden between his fingers. It was a thin, even flimsy, piece of metal, but it was sharp. A few droplets of warm blood were already seeping out from broken skin even though Shang did not apply any extra pressure. Heero silently cursed himself for allowing his hands to leave his gun. Just as he was thinking that, he felt Shang's hand – the one that wasn't holding the razor – searching his jacket and relieving him of the weapon. Shang neatly tucked the gun in his coat and slowly backed away. In this fight, Heero knew that he had lost and therefore, made no move to attack Shang again. The Oz lieutenant could have easily taken his life if he had a mind to.

Shang continued from where he left off, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "I'm not sure how much you Gundam pilots want to keep your identities secret, but don't you think that you'd better rescue that poor kid before he's sent to a hospital and nosy people start to question his origins?"

Heero was clenching his teeth so hard that his jaws ached. He managed to unclench them long enough to voice his parting words to Shang. "I'm not done with you yet. Not by a long shot."

Shang cocked his head in acknowledgement that he heard before walking away.

XXXXXX

He waited patiently at the underground car park for Shang. He felt guilty for leaving Angel like that. No doubt Angel was still waiting for him beside the road, becoming more and more anxious with each passing minute. _Why is Shang taking so long? He said he'll be joining me shortly. _

He was about to go up to the ground floor to look for Shang when the lift door opened and Shang stepped out. Shang was holding two packets of white, globular stuff. Shang thrust one packet into his hands. "Sorry to make you wait. The queue for the buttered popcorn took longer than I expected."

He looked down curiously at the 'buttered popcorn' and hesitantly put one into his mouth. It tasted so much better than space rations. With a contented smile on his face, he followed Shang to his vehicle.

It was a motorcycle.

**The Blossom Part 2**

The first sign to Trowa that something was wrong was the ambulance parked near their hideout. At first he thought it was a white van. But that was before he pulled back part of the camouflage net which covered it and saw the red cross. Something must have happened during his absence and he dreaded finding out just what that 'something' was.

He then proceeded to enter the house that had become a temporary refuge for him and the other Gundam pilots. Nothing seemed to be amiss – the pieces of furniture were still in place and there were no signs of the place being visited by anyone unfriendly. He walked up the stairs. Halfway up, he saw Heero sitting silently at the top of the stairs with a cocked pistol in his hands. The Wing Gundam pilot appeared slightly haggard and was pointedly avoiding his eye(s). For a moment, none of them said anything. Trowa resigned to the fact that he would have to be the one to break the silence when it was evident that Heero was not offering to talk first.

"Care to explain the ambulance outside?" asked Trowa, putting effort into making his voice sound level. Seeing Heero's strange behaviour only made his premonition worse.

Heero put his pistol away. "I needed it to transport Quatre."

_What do you mean by 'transport Quatre'?!! Are you trying to tell me he's wounded?? That's what you're trying to tell me, isn't it? When did this happen? How did this happen? Where were you when this happened?_ Trowa's mind was overwhelmed by a barrage of questions but he merely waited, willing Heero to elaborate further.

"It would be too much of a risk for him to land in a public hospital. So I hijacked the ambulance," said Heero, still not looking at him.

_Damn you, Heero. That's not what I want to know. _"So how badly is he injured?"

"He has abrasions on his forehead, arms and legs; and at least two fractured ribs," reported Heero detachedly. "However, there is no need to worry. Judging from the very little amount of frothy blood he vomited, there is no severe damage to the lungs. Also, the muscles around his ribcage should hold the ribs in place while the bones heal." __

Trowa didn't know whether to laugh or cry-- both of which would likely cause Heero to identify him as an impostor and shoot him on the spot. He carefully kept his face devoid of any emotion. "How did he end up like this?" Trowa was amazed by his own self-control. What he really wanted to do then, more than anything else, was to go for Heero's throat and slam the boy's head against the wall. His unfailing, cool common sense managed to override his violent impulses, but he was not confident that it would hold out for long.

"He was knocked down by a motorcyclist," said Heero, his eyes hardening. "A motorcyclist whom I suspect is Shang."

"Shang? The OZ lieutenant you told us about?" This was not what he had expected. "Why would he do that to Quatre?" Trowa mentally marked Shang's name down in his list of 'must-die' enemies.

"To create a diversion."

Make that the 'must-be-tortured-to-within-an-inch-of-his-life-and-then-left-out-in-the-open-to-devoured-by-wild-beasts' enemies list. "Diversion," restated Trowa with the calmness of the eye of a hurricane.

"The person he really wanted was Duo." Heero smashed one fist against the wall, creating a fair-sized dent in the broken plasterboard. "And I failed to stop him."

Trowa almost sympathized with him. Almost. "We'll continue this discussion later. I want to see Quatre now." He continued his ascent of the stairs.

Heero moved aside to let him pass. "Quatre is in his room."

"Don't you even think of escaping," warned Trowa as he passed by Heero. "You have a lot to answer for."

Heero remained still, saying nothing.

Trowa entered Quatre's room and his heart was wrenched by the sight of the bandaged Arabian lying on the bed. _Damn Heero! Damn him! He had promised to watch over Quatre… and Duo. He had promised!_

Trowa pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down on it. _I should never have taken over Quatre's mission. None of this would have happened if I remained here._ Quatre's face looked so peaceful that one would think that he was only sleeping. The only problem was that he may never wake up. Trowa held one of Quartre's cold hands with his slightly trembling fingers. He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the back of Quatre's hand to his lips._ Please don't punish me like this. Please wake up… _

"Trowa, why are you kissing my hand?"

Trowa dropped Quartre's hand, pulled back his own and straightened his back in a blink of an eye. His tongue, however, was slower in responding. "I thought… I mean… Aren't you supposed to be comatose?" Trowa grimaced inwardly when he heard how insensitive he sounded.

"I was. For about three hours." Quatre smiled weakly at him. "I'm so glad that you have returned."

Trowa's heart soared. "Really?"

Quatre nodded. "Duo is still missing. I want you to help Heero find him."

Trowa's heart plummeted. "So you're worried about Duo."

Oblivious to what Trowa was feeling at that moment, Quatre said, "It's my fault that he is nowhere to be found now. I would have gone out looking for him myself if my condition allowed it."

"Can't you worry about yourself for a change?" Quatre merely looked at him, puzzled by his question. Trowa reverted to his usual monotone. "You need someone to take care of you."

"No, I don't. Heero had helped to carry a week's supply of food and drink up the stairs for me already. And the toilet is just next to my room. I'll be fine here alone."

Trowa looked at him steadily for a while before getting up to leave. "You just concentrate on resting and recovering. Heero and I will bring back the baka."

Quatre laughed softly at that. Seeing that laugh made Trowa feel much better.

XXXXXX

Heero was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest when Trowa came out from Quatre's room. The lanky boy walked towards him and swiftly punched him on the jaw without even batting an eyelid.

Heero growled furiously, "What the hell was that for?!"

Trowa blew on his bruised knuckles. "For not keeping your word. And also for not telling me that Quatre is conscious."

Heero's eyebrows drew together in an angry expression. "I didn't say anything about him going into a coma."

"You don't have to. The way you behaved as if someone has died or something. What else do you expect me to believe? I almost thought that his life was hanging in a balance."

Heero could detect a faint hint of joyful relief in Trowa's voice. "I told you there is no need to worry, didn't I?"

"I didn't believe you."

_And I suppose that's my fault too?! _Heero had had enough of this bickering. He had more important matters to attend to. "So have you decided to stay here to take care of Quatre? I have some unfinished business with Shang."

Trowa was brought up short by the mention of Shang's name. His emerald green eyes flashed dangerously. "You can have the pieces that you can scrape up after I'm through with him."

Heero smiled, finding that offer extremely funny.

XXXXXX

He gloomily looked out of the hole in the wall where the window should be at the pedestrians walking on the pavement below. Ever since Shang had brought him to this old and abandoned building yesterday evening, he had time to do quite a bit of thinking. Why had he left the people who knew about his past to follow a mysterious person whom he only got to know through his dreams? He trusted Shang, yes, but was that reason enough to leave Angel and the others without even telling them where he had gone? And where would he go from here? Shang had told him that there were 'bad people' after them, and that it was necessary to keep a low profile. Would he just spend the rest of his life following Shang around like a pet dog, and living the life of a fugitive?

Not for the first time, he cursed his memory loss. With his past memories gone, he had lost a sense of purpose in his life. Angel had said that he used to be … what was it called again?… a 'Gundam' pilot. That he carried out large-scale destruction of military factions on earth that threatened the safety of this 'Colony' in space. He became extremely distressed when Angel tried to describe a few of his past deeds to him (with the hope that they would bring back his memories) and adamantly refused to listen anymore. He hated killing. He hated death. He could not believe that he used to be such a heartless killer. Maybe it was better for him never to regain his memories if they only serve to remind him how blood-stained his hands were. But… he couldn't help feeling that his working for the 'Colony' gave him a purpose to exist. At least then, he was needed and there were people who depended on him. Now…

"You're still needed, Maxwell. I need you."

He turned his head around in surprise to see Shang standing beside him. "How… can you read my mind?" he asked, slightly frightened by the prospect of other people having access to his thoughts.

"You were thinking too loudly," said Shang, as if it explained anything.

He sighed and sat down on his makeshift bed – which composed of a thin, musty mattress and a rolled-up towel as a pillow. "Shang, why did you seek me out in my dreams?"

Shang looked down at him quietly for a while before joining him on the mattress. Both of them sat next to one another with their backs against the wall. "Someone I respected a lot once taught me how to lead a happy and fulfilling existence – 'always have someone to love' and 'always have something to look forward to'. Maxwell, you've provided me with both those requirements."

Embarrassed by Shang's straightforward answer, he mumbled, "You're one easily-pleased person." He stared right ahead, fighting hard to keep a blush down.

"Only by you."

Was it his imagination or did those words seem to be whispered right into his ear? He could even feel Shang's gentle breathing, and this caused him to sweat profusely. "Shang…?" He turned and saw Shang's face… very appallingly close to his. What followed was entirely reflex. Before he realized what was happening, he was holding a fist up in the air and Shang was lying, dazed, on the floor. At the same time, something exploded in his mind. He gritted his teeth from the pain that threatened to split his skull. Clutching his head between his hands, he moaned.

_This had happened before._ Images soon followed. A swimming pool. Watery darkness. Shang… The scene changed and he saw himself struggling with Shang for the possession of a gun. A shot went off, accompanied by the acrid smell of lit gunpowder. _Shang is an enemy._ No, it can't be. _He's the enemy._ You're lying! _He's the one who robbed you of your memories._ No! No! No! It's not true!

"Maxwell? What's wrong?" Shang had moved to his side and was looking at him worriedly. Shang's hands were reaching out to hold him before they were startled back by his cries.

"Don't touch me!!" he snarled, a wild look in his eyes. The brief flashes of memories disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving him drained and exhausted. The pain, however, did not recede as quickly. He slumped on the mattress, breathing heavily. When he spoke again, it was in his vulnerable-sounding voice. "Sh… Shang?"

"Yes?" Shang knelt some distance away from him, his face registering worry… and also something else. Apprehension? He couldn't tell, and didn't really want to think about it at the moment. He just wanted to sleep away the pain.

"I apologize for my behaviour just now. I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry for hitting you…"

"Hush, say no more." Shang placed a cool hand on his aching forehead. "I can sense that you are in pain. Rest now and think no more about this matter."

He nodded feebly and released himself into sleep.

XXXXXX

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" asked Trowa who was sitting behind Heero on the motorcycle. They had travelled for more than half an hour before the Heavy Arms pilot decided to put forth the question that had been nagging at him ever since they had set out together to rescue Duo.

"Yes," said Heero, and offered to speak no more.

Sometimes, Trowa was positive that Heero could beat him in terms of taciturnity. "How can you be so sure?"

"My radar can pinpoint Duo's exact location."

"You actually put a tracking device on Duo?" asked Trowa incredulously.

"And it's a good thing that I did, isn't it?"

Trowa couldn't disagree with that. "I understand why you would want to do a thing like that."

For a few minutes, only the roar of the engine filled the silence. Then Heero spoke up. "I envy you."

Baffled, Trowa asked, "Envy? Why?"

"You and Quatre are always on good terms with each other. Both of you never quarreled."

Trowa watched the other boy silently, slowly digesting the hidden message behind those words. "Quatre is nice to everyone; not just me. I should be the one envying you."

"Why would you want to envy me?" Heero asked the same question Trowa had asked a moment ago, only in more words. "I sometimes think that Duo exists for no other reason except to torment me. He is always either annoying me or making a fool out of me."

"But he only does that to you and not anyone else." Heero was quiet as he chewed over this piece of information. Trowa asked, "Haven't you noticed this before?"

"No, I haven't," said Heero softly. "But why would he want to do that?"

"One can only wonder. Every time I see Duo attempting to cheer you up, I'm reminded of a person who keeps on charging into a brick wall – an act that will only be rewarded with cuts, bruises and a lot of unnecessary pain. And yet Duo still kept on doing it."

That marked the end of their small talk. Heero brought the motorcycle to a halt at the side of the road. "Duo should be in a building one block from here. We'll walk the remaining distance."

Trowa unwound his arms from around Heero's waist and removed his protective helmet. He got down from the motorcycle and scanned the area. As it was late evening, most of the shops were already closed for the day. Litter, such as old newspapers and rusty soft drink cans, was strewn all over the place. "Lead on."

They reached their destination five minutes later. It was a dilapidated four-storeyed building, with flaking paint and colourful graffiti on the external walls. There was a motorcycle parked outside the building.

"Black colour with streaks of red. It fits Quatre's description." Heero took another glance at the radar held in his hand. "All I know for sure is that Duo is somewhere at the left side of the building, closer to side facing the road. He could be on any floor and we shouldn't assume that Shang is at the same place as him."

Trowa spotted the scaffold behind the building. It was a crudely-made structure of wooden poles and hemp rope. "I think it's better for you to guard the motorcycle and make sure he doesn't escape. I'll try to get into the building by climbing that scaffold over there."

Heero looked at the scaffold and then back at him, skepticism displayed plainly on his face. "You really think you can climb that rickety thing?"

"I used to work in a circus, remember? It'll be a cinch," said Trowa confidently. "In exactly fifteen minutes, walk across the road and put yourself in plain view."

Heero handed the radar over to Trowa.

XXXXXX

Maxwell had been sleeping for two whole hours and was still showing no signs of waking up soon.

The OZ officer-turned-traitor gazed despondently out of the window, taking care to keep himself hidden from the view of people who might be walking on the street below. Maxwell's reaction earlier that day had brought him back to harsh reality. Encouraged by Maxwell's increasing trust in him, he had thought that he had, at long last, managed to claim Maxwell as his wingmate; and that the trust between them was permanent. He couldn't have been more wrong.

Maxwell would only remain by his side willingly as long as he was still suffering the aftermath of the macrophage's attack on his mind. If Maxwell recovered so much as a fragment of his past memories, the long-haired boy would not only leave him, but kill him as well. Maxwell would never have come to him if he was in full control of his faculties. _Don't touch me._ That was a command from the old Maxwell… the real Maxwell.

A movement at the opposite side of the road caught his attention. A teenage boy was crossing the road and making his way to the bottom of the building. Shang recognized the mop of moss-green hair. _Heero Yuy._ He had learnt about that name through Maxwell. It had taken him quite some time to find out Hojo Tsukasa's real name as Maxwell was very determined to call him 'Stoneface' and nothing else. He reached into his coat to pull out the fully-loaded pistol which he had taken from Heero. He slowly extended his hand out of the window to take a good aim.

Shang heard a click behind him and he spun around quickly, but not quick enough. One shot was released and the weapon went flying away from his hand, out of the window and down to the street below. Shang clutched his bleeding hand and went down on his knees, making an exaggerated show that he was incapacitated by his wound. He looked up to get a better look of the person who had shot him. It was a green-eyed boy with long, brown bangs that covered half of his impassive face. Even though he had never seen this boy before, Shang knew that he must be another Gundam pilot who had come for Maxwell. Shang saw his death in the other boy's eyes.

Maxwell, woken up from his sleep by the gunfire, was staring at both him and his assailant with wide, fearful eyes. "Broomhead?"

"Duo, get behind me," ordered 'Broomhead', his eyes still trained on Shang. He looked as if he was about to pull the trigger again.

"No!" Maxwell flung himself in front of Shang, spreading his arms wide apart. "Shang is my friend!"

It was apparent that 'Broomhead' had never expected this. "You idiot! Get out of the way!"

Shang took advantage of the momentary distraction by Maxwell to extract the gun strapped to his ankle. He took aim and fired.

There was a gush of blood from the Gundam pilot's head as he fell backwards and landed on the floor. The blood began pooling on the floor.

"Broom… no… Trowa!!" Maxwell overcame his petrifaction and rushed to the other boy's side. Tears were streaming down his grief-stricken face. "Don't die! Oh, please don't die!.."

Shang grabbed hold of Maxwell's right arm and tried to pull him away from the dead boy. "Maxwell, we have to leave now."

Maxwell struggled against his grip and screeched, "Why did you kill him?! Why?! Why?!" Maxwell began hitting him on the chest with his fists.

Shang grabbed his shoulders and shook him roughly. "It's either him or me. Now let's go. Heero Yuy may be coming up any moment."

"What?" Maxwell quietened down almost immediately. "Stoneface is here?"

"Yes." Shang heard the barest whisper of Maxwell's thoughts: _If I remain here, Shang will…_

Maxwell took one long look at Trowa's still body before he spoke up again, "I… I'll go with you."

XXXXXX

Heero had to disarm a few booby traps along the staircase before he could reach the room from which the two gunshots originated. He sucked in his breath when he saw that it was Trowa's bleeding body that was lying on the floor. Both Duo and Shang were nowhere in sight. Heero gnashed his teeth. He had underestimated Shang again.

The 'corpse' on the floor stirred and Heero nearly lost his grip on his gun. Trowa, with most of his face caked with dried blood, sat up and began scrubbing away the blood that had glued his eyelids together. After Trowa had managed to open his eyes to look at him, Heero said, "I thought you're dead."

Trowa stood up a bit unsteadily. It was only natural, considering the amount of blood that he had lost. "The bullet grazed my scalp, maybe even taking a few flakes of skull bone with it. But I'll live." Trowa swayed on his feet and would have fallen had not Heero leapt forward to catch him. "I hate head wounds. They bleed way too much." Trowa reached into his pocket and took out the radar. He offered it to Heero. "They shouldn't be too far from here. Go after them, Heero."

Heero made no move to take the radar. "There are policemen patrolling this area and gunfire attracts them like bees to honey. I'll have to get you out of this place first."

Trowa chuckled. "A few months ago, you would have shot me and went after them…" Trowa's voice died away and his body went limp.

Heero carried the unconscious boy on his shoulder and quickly left the building. He would settle his score with Shang another time. Alone.

**The Blossom Part 3**

Maxwell was silent throughout the journey. Shang understood that this peculiar behaviour was caused by the incident back in the abandoned building and therefore let him be. Maxwell needed time to come to grips with the ruthless side of him which he had regrettably, but necessarily, revealed.

It was just as well. He was not in the mood to talk either, considering that their destination was… Cheng's cabin. It was located a good two kilometres from the nearest road, and was only accessible by a narrow footpath cutting through thick, impassable undergrowth and foliage. Shang noted that flora had begun growing on the once well-trodden path, making the footpath barely noticeable. However, this fact did not worry him as his familiarity with the place was such that he would be able to find the cabin even with his eyes closed. He had no trouble recognizing the gnarled, ancient tree with so many epiphytic and parasitic plants and fungi growing all over it that it appeared to support an entire ecosystem by itself. Cheng had named it his 'Grandfather Tree', supposedly because of its obvious old age.

The scent of the place was familiar too- the green musk of herbs, the heady, sweet fragrance of wild flowers and the tannin-rich breath of the trees around him. The familiar sounds created by the singing birds, the buzzing insects and the rustling leaves also tugged at his heart, bringing a lump to his throat.

They arrived at the cabin at around noon time. Behind the medium-sized log cabin was a range of forested foothills which seemed to have the cabin nestled like a child in the embrace of its mother.

Shang took out the key which was carried on a chain around his neck and used it to unlock the door. The cabin was in the same state as Shang had last left it. That was three months ago. And he had not intended to leave the place alive.

He led Maxwell to one of the rooms and showed him the clean clothes in a small chest of drawers at the side of the bed. "Get changed into whatever clothes you can find here," instructed Shang. Maxwell, with his blood-stained shirt and pants, merely nodded and said nothing. Shang left him alone in the room, closing the door behind him.

Shang's eyes slowly traveled around the interior of the cabin, his mind whirling with the memories invoked by each object and piece of furniture. There was the radio in the kitchen, set to play 98.2 – the classical music station. Cheng preferred music to songs and would always turn on the radio every time he worked alone in the kitchen. Not that Shang never helped out in the food preparation. It was just that they both agreed to let Cheng do the cooking after Shang made a meat loaf that looked, and tasted, like something dug out from a peat swamp.

More often than not, they ate fish during their stay in the cabin. There was a brook nearby which was the habitat of many fat, edible fish. Shang, who had never experienced country life before, could not even understand what Cheng meant by 'baiting the hook'. Cheng had taught him many things – everything from gutting a fish to executing breakneck stunts with a mobilesuit. Shang marveled at how an empty space could be so full of a person, absentmindedly touching the two fishing poles on the mantelshelf. He was so absorbed in the reminiscence that he was not aware of the warm wetness of his cheeks.

XXXXXX

Heero was on the brink of collapse, sustained only by the adrenaline in his veins. It had taken him an hour to bring Trowa back to the hideout and another hour to patch him up and make sure that he wouldn't die from the head wound. The hardest and most time-consuming part was trying to calm Quatre down, who was on the verge of a nervous breakdown after seeing the state Trowa was in.

That gave Shang and Duo more than four hours of head start.

_Duo…_ He rode on throughout the night, ignoring the protests from his exhausted and abused body.

XXXXXX

He had changed into a long-sleeved, white shirt that was meant for someone more broad-shouldered and long-limbed than him and a pair of khaki shorts that reached his knees. He could not find it in his heart to forgive Shang for what he did to Broomhead. However, after seeing the tears, his heart softened.

"Where is the medicine cabinet?" he asked.

Shang looked up at to him and, as if suddenly aware that he had been weeping, hastily scrubbed his face with a sleeve. "It's…" said Shang in a slightly nasal voice. "..It's somewhere beside the sink in the kitchen."

He went to the cabinet and began digging through for sterile bandages and any form of antiseptic, feeling Shang's eyes on his back. Shang did not bother to stare less obviously even after he had turned around. He wetted one roll of bandage under a cold tap and approached Shang. Once he was close enough, he pulled Shang's right hand out, palm facing upwards. He was surprised to discover two gunshot wounds, one appearing several days older than the other. He set to the task of wiping away the dark blood around those wounds with the wet bandage.

"I thought you hate me," said Shang, still looking at him with wonder in his eyes. "For what I did yesterday."

"I still do" was his terse reply. "I asked you before and I'll ask again. Why did you do it?" He applied more pressure than was required as he cleaned the injured hand.

Shang gave no objections to his rough ministrations. "He was trying to take you away from me."

He poured the liquid antiseptic, which was supposed to be diluted before application, all over Shang's hand in more than generous amounts. Shang did not even flinch. "So you're telling me that you'll just murder, in cold blood, anyone who comes for me?"

Shang calmly answered, "Yes."

He silently lamented over his sorry fate of having to contend with not only one, but two, homicidal psychopaths in his life. He had thought that Shang was more understanding and 'normal' than Stoneface. How very wrong he was. "Damn it! You don't go around killing people for reasons as trivial as this!"

"It's not trivial to me," stated Shang.

He bandaged Shang's hand as tightly as he could, making sure that the bandage caused as much discomfort as possible. "It is to me!" He looked into Shang's eyes challengingly. "You do that again, and I will kill myself. How about that?"

Shang's expression grew grave. "I won't let you."

He laughed at that. Laughed, because he knew that Shang meant what he said and laughing was his way of concealing his true emotions. And he was feeling a lot of fear at that moment. "How about if I kill you instead?" He was startled by the words that came out of his own mouth. It was almost as if he was comfortable with the idea of killing. Could this mean that he was slowly reverting to the old Duo Maxwell?

Shang closed his eyes, momentarily breaking the eye contact. When he opened them again, the two azure orbs burned with an intense flame. "You would do that, wouldn't you?" Shang's voice trembled slightly. "No matter what I do. No matter how much I've sacrificed for you. I would never be more important to you than… him."

"Him? Who are you referring to?" He slowly moved away from Shang, frightened by what he saw in the eyes of the other boy.

Shang seized hold of his left wrist in a crushing grip, preventing further retreat. "Him. Heero Yuy."

He laughed again, this time out of amusement and not fear. "Stoneface? Don't make me laugh."

"I'm not trying to be funny. Why else would you have come with me willingly yesterday?"

"Isn't it obvious? I followed you because I hate Stoneface! So much that as soon as you mentioned his name, I was more than eager to leave that place than to remain behind and confront him."

Shang shook his head sadly. "Your denial only pains me more. Why can't you be honest with me?"

"I am being honest!!" he yelled, suddenly very tensed up. "Do you think you know me better than myself?!"

"Maxwell, you followed me because you feared for Heero Yuy's life, not because you hated him."

"Bullshit," he countered. He tried not to think too much about the matter, afraid that Shang would be able to read his thoughts again.

"Prove it then."

He stared at him, utter confusion showing on his face. "How do you expect me to do that?"

"I have a feeling that Heero Yuy will be joining us soon." Shang fingered the sapphire ring worn on his immobilized hand. "You can then show me how much you hate him."

XXXXXX

The blades of long grass cut at him as he trudged through them, making him wish that he had worn his jeans instead. Checking his radar every now and then, Heero slowly made his way to the spot indicated. The route through the forest was a difficult one, more so when he hadn't a clue where the footpaths were located. Undaunted, he carried on walking. He was only vaguely aware of the insects which bit at him mercilessly and the thorns of bushes which tore at his flesh when he forced his way through them. He had long since forgotten the needs of his physical body, the fatigue, hunger and thirst considered as no more than a nuisance.

His mind had incessantly plagued him with the question: _Why am I doing this?_ Because he needed to bring Duo back. _Why?_ Because… because Duo knew too much. Duo was a danger to him and all the other Gundam pilots as long as he was with Shang – an OZ officer. He was doing this solely for the sake of his mission. That was the only reason. Yes, the only reason. Trowa's words came unbidden to his mind. _You are not being honest with yourself, Heero._

"Bah! What do **you** know?" Heero suddenly realized that he was speaking to no one in particular and began to feel foolish. _Keep your mind on the mission! The mission!_ The mission of hauling Duo's ass back to where it belonged, and making Shang pay for everything he had done. Quatre had made him promise to give Shang a slow and painful death. The Arabian pilot shocked him sometimes. Quatre hardly showed any hatred when he was told that it was Shang who had knocked him down with the motorbike.

Heero stumbled upon a footpath and was pleased to find that it was leading him straight to where Duo was supposed to be. He would have to proceed with more caution from here on as there was no telling how many traps Shang could have set up along the path. He was surprised that there were none, and this only made him more wary.

Hiding behind a tree, Heero carefully studied the log cabin in which Duo was staying. The main door was closed and most probably locked, but it was never his intention to use that entrance. There were several windows through which he could enter the cabin. He would be lucky if he could chance upon a window to an empty room walled off from the rest of the cabin.

Heero decided to wait until dusk before making his move. He failed to notice that the lights in the cabin were already switched on, in spite of the fact that it was only mid-afternoon.

XXXXXX

Two figures were hiding behind a thicket on the slope of the hill which gave a good view of the cabin and its immediate surroundings without betraying their presence.

"There he is," he informed Maxwell, pointing to the silhouette of a human who had stealthily walked out from the cover of the forest and was now working on the locks of one of the windows. "Just as I suspected. That ring of yours is a tracking device."

Maxwell swallowed several times as he stared helplessly at Heero Yuy. Shang noticed that his shoulders were shaking slightly. "Shang, why don't we just leave right now? It's really not necessary to…"

Shang shoved a detonator in Maxwell's face, cutting him off. "I thought you said that you hate him. If you hate him, you shouldn't have any problems doing this."

"I hate him alright, but that doesn't mean I want him dead!"

"You certainly had no qualms about killing me though." Shang saw that Heero Yuy had managed to open the window and was climbing through it. "If you won't do it, I will."

Maxwell reached out and snatched the detonator from his hand. "I'll do it." Shang watched Maxwell fumble clumsily with the switch before the braided boy gave up the little act and threw the detonator to the foot of the hill instead. His actions did not surprise Shang at all. Maxwell turned to face him and even managed to look convincingly abashed. "It slipped out of my hands."

"That's too bad then." Shang smiled and took out the real detonator from one of the pockets of his coat. Maxwell's violet eyes widened as he realized what was happening. "You have failed my test and I'm afraid Heero Yuy will have to pay the price." Shang's thumb moved to flip the switch.

XXXXXX

Heero did a systematic check of every corner of the cabin's interior, his lithe body moving quickly and quietly. There was no living person in sight. _But Duo must be around here somewhere. _The lights were on. There was even a half-filled glass of water on the table in the lounge. And the radio in the kitchen was softly playing orchestral music.

His instincts alerted him to danger when he saw the sapphire ring lying on the mantelshelf, next to two fishing poles. Only the ring. No Duo.

Heero ran towards the closest window as fast as his legs could carry him. His shoulder had barely touched the glass before the explosion threw him clear out of the window. He could feel broken pieces of glass burying themselves in several parts of his body before he even hit the ground. Heero did not manage to break his fall properly and the indirect force of impact fractured his collarbone. Searing hot flames billowed from the burning cabin as Heero painfully crawled out of harm's way.

XXXXXX

"NO!!" Even as he charged forward to grab hold of the detonator, he had a sinking feeling that he was too late. His fears were confirmed when he heard the loud explosion coming from behind him. Fear gave way to immense sorrow which was soon replaced by pure rage. He tackled Shang to the ground and began raining fast, furious blows on him. Not the pathetic, child-like pummeling he did the day before, but serious, calculated punches that were meant to cause as much damage and pain as possible. After breaking Shang's nose, he somehow recalled that Shang's left shoulder was injured and started to concentrate a few hits in that particular area. His efforts were rewarded by grunts of pain which Shang had managed to hold back until then.

Shang made no attempts to fend off the blows.

"Why don't you defend yourself?!" he demanded angrily. "Are you so keen to die, Shang? Because I **will** kill you if you don't stop me!"

Shang smiled at him. A smile that appeared grotesque with the swollen lips and bloodied nose. "Heero Yuy means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

"Don't change the subject! I've warned you that I'll kill you if you ever harm my friends again. Why did you still choose to do it?"

"Because he holds your heart, Maxwell," said Shang in subdued tones. "Even if you don't realize this yourself."

"You're insane, you know that? Insane!!" He let go of Shang in disgust and turned towards the burning cabin below. Killing Shang wouldn't bring Stoneface back to life. His throat had constricted, making it difficult for him to breathe. He felt so hollow all of a sudden, as if something inside him had died.

There was a movement near the cabin. Not daring to hope too much, he refused to feel any relief or joy until he was sure. He strained his eyes to make out the figure near the flames – a human figure. The illumination by the fire enabled him to catch a glimpse of the face. It was Stoneface's face. Alive. Stoneface was alive.

His legs started to carry him towards Stoneface of their own accord. He was infused with an unexplainable desire to rush towards Stoneface and hug him as a drowning man would a piece of flotsam.

So overwhelmed was he by the joy of seeing Stoneface alive that he didn't notice Shang closing the distance between them. He gasped in surprise when he felt the barrel of a pistol pressing against the small of his back. He froze immediately.

Shang spoke into his ear. "You still have one more chance to do the right thing. Don't botch it up again."

At the same moment, Stoneface looked up and saw the two of them.

XXXXXX

Heero could only make out the faint outlines of two people standing on the slopes of the hill. However, faint outlines were all that he needed to identify them. Feelings of jealousy stirred inside Heero when he saw that Duo was standing very close to Shang. Jealousy? How can…This is no time to think about this! The mission! Concentrate on the mission! "Why are you here?" asked Duo. His voice sounded unnatural to Heero's ears. "I've come to bring you back. You have been gone for three days." 

"I don't want to go with you." Again, that artificial voice.

_Something is wrong._ "Why?"

"Because I've decided to stay with Shang. I want to live out the rest of my life with him," said Duo in a voice that sounded too cheerful to be genuine.

"Why?" asked Heero again.

"Because he needs me, and I need him too… Why don't you just go back, Stoneface?" said Duo, almost pleadingly.

"I can't."

"What do you mean by 'you can't'? You can't, or you won't?"

"Both." Heero tried to look into Duo's eyes but could not find them in the darkness. "You may think that I'm drunk when I'm saying this, Duo, or that you're dreaming. Let me reassure you that it's neither." Heero took a deep breath and braced himself for what he was about to say. "Ever since you have gone missing, I have not slept a wink, or eaten any food or drunk any water."

Duo did not know how to respond to this and therefore remained silent.

_A soldier has no need for feelings. A soldier has no need for anything other than a purpose._ "I came because I need you, Duo," continued Heero, not recognizing his own voice. His mentor would turn in his grave if he ever heard Heero saying such things. But Heero was no longer concerned about maintaining his 'Perfect Soldier' image. He was human after all; and Duo was the one who had helped him discover that. "I need you in my life." __

"Heero…" The name was uttered so softly that Heero thought he had imagined it.

XXXXXX

As that name left his parted lips, the mist that had been clouding his mind dissipated. There was an inrush of memories – the reason why he was sent to earth, the other Gundam pilots who had become his comrades-in-arms, the black Gundam which he had named Shinigami, his last mission and his encounter with Shang which had led to a long, dreamless sleep that he thought he would never wake up from. With those memories came pain. Duo dropped down to his knees, his hands clutching his head which felt as if it was going to burst. _Duo Maxwell._ Yes, he recognized that name now – his name.

As his mind was processing his new-found identity, his vision was suddenly filled with the back of a hand which was swung savagely across his face. The hand continued in a fluid motion to strike the side of his neck in a short, powerful stroke.

_What the hell…?_ Duo was very annoyed as he slipped back into unconsciousness once more.

XXXXXX

Heero bit back a growl when he saw Duo slump to the ground after Shang delivered his blow. Heero's survival instincts were screaming at him to run for cover but Heero still carried on standing at where he was. He would not risk losing sight of Duo again. It was unfortunate that he had dropped his pistol somewhere on the ground when he was flung out of the cabin by the explosion.

"You are a most tenacious foe, Heero Yuy," complimented Shang as he aimed his pistol at Heero. "It seems that nothing short of death will stop you from haunting me time and again."

"I will haunt you even after I die," said Heero, with so much conviction that it sounded like a promise.

Shang lowered his pistol. "Pick up your gun, Heero Yuy. I'll grant you a fair fight."

"A fair fight?" Heero almost sneered. "You didn't experience a bomb going off under your feet."

"And you didn't experience three bullets ripping through your body in less than two weeks." Shang was trying to tell him something but Heero could not figure out what it was. "I give you ten seconds to find your gun. Once I count to ten, I will shoot you regardless of whether you're armed or not."

Heero's lips curled in a deadly smile. He would play Shang's little game, and he would make sure that Shang lived to regret it.

XXXXXX

_I'll wring the neck of the bastard who knocked me out! _Duo seethed, as he fought his way back to consciousness. He wasn't going to wake up and regain control of his body only to have some brute whack him senseless again. He had not been himself for a long time and was eager to find out what had happened during his period of incapacity.

Duo came around suddenly, lurching back to consciousness on leaf-carpeted soil. _How in the world did I end up here?_ Duo pushed himself up on his feet. At the same time, he heard someone shout "Ten!" before two ear-deafening gunshots rang out.

He was thrown forward by one bullet sinking into his hip, and then backward as he took another bullet somewhere near his right shoulder. _This is definitely not one of my better days… _thought Duo miserably before his world exploded in a red haze of pain.

**The Blossom Part 4**

"Duo!"

"Maxwell!"

At any other time, Duo would have found it highly amusing to have his name called this way. But at the moment, he was in too much pain to feel any amusement. He was back on the ground, regretting that he had ever gotten up in the first place.

His name was called out by two different persons; most likely the same persons who had shot him. One of the voices he could recognize – Heero's. Yes, it only made sense that Heero would want to pump him full of bullets. But he could not recognize the other voice. Someone else who wanted him dead? _Who can it be…?_

Shang's face came into view and Duo groaned loudly. He groaned even more loudly when Heero appeared beside Shang to look down at him. Then the two of them began talking over his head, as if he wasn't there.

"He needs medical attention," said Shang in serious tones. "Fast."

Heero's automatic pistol was hovering inches in front of Shang's forehead. "Give me a reason not to shoot you right now."

Shang looked at Heero calmly in the eye. "I know my way around here, and I know the shortest path to the main road. Are you going to risk walking around in circles in this forest while Maxwell bleeds to death?"

"We'll continue from where we left off some other time," intoned Heero, holstering his pistol. Heero's hard, cold eyes softened a little when he turned back to Duo. "Are you hurt?"

_If that isn't the most **stupid** question that I've ever heard… _"What do you think?" snapped Duo irritably, as if the whole situation was all Heero's fault. "I have one bullet in my buttock and another in my shoulder. And I have blood flowing out of me like a goddamn river. Do you think I'm hurt, Heero?"

Shang was looking at him strangely and Duo lashed out at him as well. "And you! I don't know why you didn't kill me when you had the chance, but you'll definitely regret it. And if I have to walk with a limp for the rest of my life, I'll make sure you feel regret for the rest of your pathetic existence!"

Shang turned to Heero and asked almost conversationally, "Is he usually like this?"

The corners of Heero's mouth twitched. "You don't know him at all, do you?"

"Hello! I'm still here, you know," Duo called out sourly from the ground. "So stop talking to each other as if..." Duo was silenced abruptly when Heero knelt down and pecked him on the lips. His eyes became as huge as saucers before promptly fainting on the spot.

"That should give us about two hours of peace," said Heero, explaining his actions to Shang. He tried to lift Duo over his shoulder but failed when the pain from his fractured collarbone jarred every nerve in his body. Heero gritted his teeth and was about to try again when Shang took Duo away from him. The other boy carried Duo on his shoulder with ease, but Heero was not about to hand Duo over that easily.

"You're in no shape to carry Maxwell." It was as if Shang knew that he was going to object. Shang smiled and said, "Besides, you had your turn."

Heero made no comment to that as he followed Shang down the hill and through the forest. For some reason, he came to see Shang as a threat that had to be eliminated at all costs.

XXXXXX

The sound of breaking glass woke Sally Po up from her sleep. Reflexes kicked in and she immediately reached for the loaded gun under her pillow. She sat up on the bed quickly and aimed her gun at the intruder who had climbed in through the window. No, there were two intruders. She could not see their faces clearly under the dim light from the street lamps below.

"I have a gun and I'm not afraid to use it!" warned Sally, wishing that she had time to reach for the double-barreled shotgun under her bed.

"Sally, I need your help," said the intruder who had broken her window. It was a new window pane too. She had paid seventy-five dollars for it during a sale at K-mart.

Sally was understandably cross when she answered the intruder. "Haven't you heard of 'door' and 'knocking'? You'd better have a very good reason for barging in like this, mister. I'm aiming my gun exactly where your head is."

The other intruder –the one who hadn't spoken so far – switched on the fluorescent lamps in the room. Sally squinted her eyes and saw her intruders more clearly. "Heero Yuy? What are you doing here??" She looked at the boy next to Heero and frowned. "And who the hell are you?"

Heero ignored her questions. "I'll explain everything later. Duo Maxwell is now in a car downstairs and he has been shot twice. He needs medical aid and discretion is important…"

"Yes, yes, I see why it has to be me. You don't have to explain further," said Sally Po as she got off the bed. She took a hair band from the dressing table and tied her honey-coloured hair in a pony tail. There was no time for plaiting now. She was still in her night gown and she blushed when she saw both teenage boys watching her intently. "Do you mind?! OUT!!"

The two boys marched out of the bedroom obediently, giving her the privacy she needed to change her clothes.

XXXXXX

The light at the end of the tunnel beckoned to him and Duo found himself drawn to the brightness, the warmth. He felt that he was leaving behind the darkness, the filth and the sins of his life and moving towards a new beginning. He felt oddly peaceful – an emotion he rarely felt in his fifteen years of life. Death was not as scary as he thought it to be.

_Don't go there, Maxwell. At least, not yet._

Duo turned around to see who was the person who had spoken. His eyes narrowed when he saw who it was. _YOU, SHANG? YOU HAVE COME TO STOP ME? I THOUGHT YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD BE HAPPY TO SEE ME GONE._

_I've never wanted any harm to come upon you._

_HA! HOW ABOUT THE TIME WHEN YOU RAPED MY MIND? OR THE TIME WHEN YOU SHOT ME? ___

Both of them were accidents, Maxwell. ACCIDENTS?! HOW CAN THEY BE ACCIDENTS?! Look, I'm not here to argue over this. I'm here to persuade you to stay in your body. Don't leave me… Don't leave us. US? 

Shang pretended not to hear him. _If you don't want me in your life, just say so. I…_

_I DON'T WANT YOU IN MY LIFE. GET LOST._

Shang sighed, a profound sadness in his eyes. _You will be happier with him._

_WHAT 'HIM'? _

_If you have no idea who I'm talking about, maybe I still have a chance after all._

_WHAT 'CHANCE'?_ _CAN YOU STOP SPEAKING IN RIDDLES?_

_Oh, Maxwell. You can be so adorably dense sometimes._

_'ADORABLY DENSE'? 'ADORABLY DENSE'?!! _Duo sputtered angrily.

Shang was visibly laughing now. The lifelessness of his eyes dimmed for the duration of his laughter. _Gods, I haven't laughed since…_Shang abruptly became sombre once more. _Jokes aside, Maxwell. You should seriously think about remaining alive._

_I WON'T BE ALIVE FOR LONG ANYWAY. HEERO WOULD SEE TO THAT._

Shang flashed a knowing smile at him._ I'm pretty sure he won't harm you. Far from it._

_ARE YOU CLAIMING THAT YOU KNOW THE GUY BETTER THAN ME? HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN HEERO BY THE WAY? _

That is of no consequence. Let just say that he has made a very interesting confession to you just before you recovered your memory. Maybe you can get him to repeat it to you.

Duo's curiosity was piqued. _INTERESTING?_

_Interesting, _affirmed Shang.

XXXXXX

"His condition has stabilized," said Sally, watching the monitors and the vital signs. "He'll pull through." There were obvious eye bags beneath her eyes, giving her the appearance of a panda.

Heero let out the breath which he did not realize he had been holding. "So he's going to be alright?"

Sally looked at him as if he was a complete idiot. "Which part of the phrase 'pull through' do you not understand, Mr. Yuy?" She was not exactly in her best of moods after being dragged out of her bed in the middle of the night to perform an emergency operation. She hadn't had time to rest for the past twenty hours.

Heero judiciously decided to leave the grouchy Sally alone. He left the ward to find Shang just waking up from his short nap on the bench outside.

They stared at each other, blue eyes confronting blue eyes.

Heero whipped out his gun – to which he had considerately attached a silencer – and pointed it at Shang. "Give me a reason not to shoot you right now."

Shang smiled that confident smile of his, despite death staring at him right in the face. "I don't think you can."

Shang was actually calling his bluff? Heero had to admit that the boy had guts. "Oh yeah? Watch…" Heero was about to say 'me' when he felt a pricking sensation in his left arm. He turned to see Sally Po drawing out the hypodermic needle which she had injected him with. The syringe was empty. "What wuz in the syringe?" asked Heero, slurring his words a bit.

"Tranquilizers."

And that was the last thing Heero heard before restful darkness claimed him.

Sally gestured to Shang. "Help me get him onto the trolley. I need to wheel him to a room where I can get all that broken glass out of him."

Shang walked over and took hold of the other end of Heero's limp body. "You might want to check out his collarbone as well. I think it's fractured."

After putting Heero on the flat, cushioned surface of the trolley, Sally directed her attention at the mysterious tawny-haired boy whom Heero had wanted to kill. "Who are you, Shang? A friend or an enemy?"

"The truth is…" said Shang softly. "I don't know."

Sally watched Shang walk away without another word, his footsteps echoing in the corridor.

XXXXXX

Due to Duo's incredible resilience, he was able to leave the hospital in three days. Heero was also eager to leave, claiming that it was too risky to remain in the hospital.

_'Too risky' indeed! _Trowa thought darkly. Heero was certainly of the opinion that the risk was too high to take when it was him or Quatre who had been hurt. But the slightest little scratch on Duo would send him running to Sally Po without any second thoughts.

"Trowa, it's now your turn to fill me up on what had happened last week," said Duo who was lying languidly on the sofa, sipping cold lemonade. The braided pilot had shamelessly allowed himself to be pampered by Quatre ever since his return. Quatre was so happy to see Duo back to his normal self again that he was willing to forgive and forget everything – including the fact that Duo had nearly gotten both of them killed.

He was not as forgiving as Quatre, that's for sure. "You nearly got me killed."

Duo asked curiously, "How did I do that?"

"You threw yourself in front of Shang when I was about to finish him off." Trowa pointed at his bandaged head. "And this is the result."

"You said 'when you were about to finish him off'. Does this mean that you had shot him before then?" asked Duo in an interrogatory voice.

"Yes… So?"

"Why was he still able to shoot you after you had shot him?"

"My first and only shot was aimed only to disarm him. He had another weapon hidden elsewhere."

"Why was the first shot aimed only to disarm him, Trowa?"

"I…" How could he reveal that he had not delivered a fatal shot because he wanted Shang to suffer first before dying? That he wanted to avenge Quatre? Quatre was sitting on the couch beside him and not even wild horses could drag the truth out of him at that moment. "What's the point of asking me this anyway?" asked Trowa suddenly, changing the subject.

"The point is, you can't blame me for that head injury of yours," declared Duo. "It is a result of your own actions, not mine."

Trowa could not believe his ears. Not only was Duo **not** feeling any remorse for what he had done, he was shifting the blame entirely. "I see…" said Trowa in a tone that was flatter than his usual.

"I'm glad we cleared up that misunderstanding," Duo gave him a toothy grin. "Do you know where Wufei is? I haven't gotten his side of the story yet."

Quatre spoke up quickly. "Wufei was away for most of the past week. So I don't think that he'll be able to tell you much…"

"But, of course, you can still try talking to him," interjected Trowa. "There are a few changes in him as a result of your memory loss though."

"Changes?" asked Duo curiously.

"Try saying the word 'yellow' to Wufei and see what happens," said Trowa with an impassive face.

"I don't think that's a good…" Quartre's words were cut off when Trowa stuffed a bun into his mouth.

Trowa said, "Wufei should be in his room. His meditation period should be over by now."

Duo climbed up the stairs.

[Two minutes later…]

"KISAMA!!!"

Duo dodged the small knives thrown at him by Wufei while desperately trying to keep his pale neck out of the path of Wufei's swinging katana.

"Hey! Wufei! Calm down, will you?!" squeaked Duo as another shuriken thudded on the wall two centimeters away from his left cheek.

"Prepare yourself for a fight to the death, Duo Maxwell!!" cried out Wufei in fervent tones as he made another lunge.

"I didn't know that you have this strong aversion to colour!" Duo leapt out of the way and bounded down the stairs, with Wufei in hot pursuit. Duo ran out of the house and did not stop running for long time, all the while having throwing knives whizzing past his head.

Quatre finished eating the bun which Trowa had crammed into his mouth. "You are not a very nice person, Trowa."

Trowa shrugged and said, "I've never pretended to be one."


	5. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Duo arrived at the forest clearing fifteen minutes before the appointed time. The forest clearing was familiar – it was the same one where he had stumbled upon Relena and Heero together so long ago. Duo saw that Heero was already waiting patiently for him in the middle of the clearing.

Duo saw that there was no one else around and the barest feelings of fear began to grip his heart. He had no idea why Heero had arranged this rendezvous and was fervently hoping that Heero's intentions did not include using him as a target practice or a punching bag. Duo had even worn a bullet-proof vest under his shirt, just in case. But of course, if Heero shot him in the head instead of the heart, he would still wind up as dead as the salted pork in supermarkets.

"You wanted to see me, Heero?" Duo tried to sound nonchalant despite his thumping heart.

Heero was startled by his early appearance and quickly crumpled up a piece of notepaper in his hand. "You're early," he said, almost accusingly.

"I tend to be punctual whenever I can," said Duo casually. He had not being able to sit still ever since he received Heero's note on his table stating the time and venue of this meeting. It had nearly driven him insane waiting for the appointed hour; not that he was looking forward to it.

"Punctual means being here at 4.00 pm. Not 3.45 pm," argued Heero.

"What do you want, Heero?" asked Duo, exasperated. "You told me to come here because you have something to say to me. Well, say it."

"Um…" Heero looked at Duo blankly for a while before turning his back to him. Duo heard the sounds of a crumpled paper being unfolded. When Heero turned to face him again, he was more sure of himself. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

There was a clap of thunder and the sky overhead darkened with the gathering of cumulonimbus clouds.

Duo scratched his head and replied uncertainly, "Yeah… It's a beautiful day."

Heero continued on with his bungling attempts at conversation. "Don't you just find this forest very peaceful and quiet?"

There was enough noise created by the forest animals to wake up the dead.

"Let's not beat around the bush, Heero." Duo could tell that Heero was trying very hard to work his way to what he really wanted to say. "Is this about the confession you made?"

"What confession? I didn't make any confession. What confession are you talking about?" babbled Heero, a look of panic in his eyes.

Duo had a feeling that this meeting would not end before nightfall. "You don't want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" asked Heero, still feigning ignorance.

Sighing, Duo sat down on the grass and gestured to Heero to do the same. Heero stood for a while longer before following suit. Duo said, "If we are to remain even remotely comfortable in each other's presence, I think it's necessary to talk about what happened during my last mission."

Heero was quietly scrutinizing his own shoes.

"You don't have to say anything. Just hear me out." Duo breathed in deeply and exhaled loudly. "You don't have to feel embarrassed over what had happened, Heero. It was just a misunderstanding, a mistake, a joke – call it what you will. Maybe I was wrong to keep you in the dark. Both you and I understood very well that you wouldn't even dream of saying the things you said, or behaving the way you did, if you knew the truth. So, your dignity is still intact, don't worry…"

"Can I say something?" interrupted Heero who had stopped avoiding Duo's eyes.

Duo began to feel uncomfortable under Heero's intense gaze. "Sure."

"When I found out that you were Katherine Kane, I was shocked and angry."

Duo nodded sadly. "That's understandable."

"But… I was also disappointed."

"Disappointed?" That was a strange emotion to feel under those circumstances. "Why?"

Heero swallowed once, twice and several times after that before he found his voice again. "When I met Katherine for the first time, I thought my search was over."

"What search?" For some reason, the rate of Duo's heartbeat had started to increase.

"My search for your female equivalent."

Duo blurted out, "My what??"

"You may not believe this, Duo," said Heero, his voice thick. "I fell in love with Katherine because she reminded me so much of you. It's not the other way round."

Duo was about to swoon. Damn, Heero shouldn't be capable of saying things like this! The Japanese pilot shouldn't have such a power over him. "Look, Heero…" Duo's voice was hoarse. "I know you feel 'obligated' to… love me or something… after what we've been through…"

"I'm not feeling 'obligated' to do anything!" cried out Heero, willing Duo to believe him.

Duo really felt like burying himself underground at that moment. He was totally unprepared for this. "How do you expect me to believe that, Heero? I thought you couldn't stand the sight of me. In the past, you treated me worse than… I don't know… a dog, maybe? I couldn't detect any love, not even friendship."

Heero looked down, shamefaced. "I was a coward then, Duo. I was afraid of you. Afraid of my feelings towards you. I thought that if I pushed you away strongly enough, you would leave me alone and I would not have to confront my own feelings." Heero's cobalt blue eyes were filled with a tenderness which Duo thought could never be meant for him. "But you didn't. And I love you all the more for that."

Duo wrapped his braid around his face, trying to hide its redness. "You're going to reduce me to a pile of mush if you go on like this," said Duo, his voice muffled by his hair.

Heero smiled and leaned closer so that his breath caressed Duo's cheek. "This is just the beginning."

Duo placed a hand on Heero's face and forced his head back by an arm's length. Heero appeared slightly hurt by his actions. "It's not that I don't feel the same way, Heero. I'm just not ready for this level of intimacy yet."

"Then what are you ready for now?" asked Heero.

Duo answered him with his lips.

_Love has to be mutual to bloom…_The thought whispered in Heero's mind as he gave in to the joy of the moment.

A lone figure who had been hiding behind a tree some distance away from the clearing turned to leave. A sudden flash of sunlight hit a lock of white hair, giving it a silvery glow which soon faded in the shade of the trees.

The End 

Author's final note:

I'd like to thank all the people who have showered me with kilobytes of encouraging words and comments throughout the 18 months that I have taken to complete this fic. Your emails have brightened many gloomy days of my life.

Special thanks to Wing Low, without whom I wouldn't even begin writing this fic. I also want to thank Minky for helping me edit all the parts of 'The Blossom', and for keeping my ego fat and happy…


	6. Author's Ramblings

**_What started my interest in stories with gay themes:_**

It happened on one fateful day in 1997, when I was let loose in a manga (i.e. Japanese comics) bookstore with too much money in my pocket and too little ideas in my head as to which manga to rent. I stumbled upon Minami Ozaki's shonen-ai/yaoi manga titled 'Zetsuai 1989', and up till now, I still consider this work of hers to be one of the best in its field. Well, if you've read half as many clichéd and trashy shonen-ai manga as I had, you would be more able to appreciate how well-realized her characters are, and how effectively she had been able to communicate to the readers the sense of despair and desperation that underlies the relationship between the two protagonists of her story. That is not to say that her work isn't clichéd at all. No, far from it. I suppose Ozaki merely managed to carry the whole thing off more successfully than many other creators of shonen-ai manga.

When I took this manga home and started reading it, my first reaction was shock; but by the time I finished reading all five volumes of this manga, I was craving for more of its kind. This obsession of mine had been a source of embarrassment for me, but I found it extremely hard to break free from it. Then, other works depicting gay couples began to force themselves into my attention (though I don't deny that I had actively sought them out many times), which included novels, movies and even television series. I've listed a few examples below, for those of you who are suffering from the same obsession I had.

_Novels _

-The Mysteries of Pittsburg (by Michael Chabon)

-The Last Herald Mage trilogy (by Mercedes Lackey)

-Kept Boy (by Robert Rodi)

_Movies _

-The Bird Cage (featuring Robin Williams)

-Object of My Affection (featuring Jennifer Aniston)

-In & Out (featuring Kevin Kline)

-Wonder Boys (featuring Tobey Maguire)

_Drama series / Sitcoms_

-Will & Grace

-Queer as Folk

-Six Feet Under


End file.
